


Somebody That I Used To Know

by AlexaCardew



Series: STIUTK verse [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Child Abuse, Depression, First Love, Friendship, Homophobia, M/M, Romance, mild eating disorder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-11
Updated: 2013-03-29
Packaged: 2017-12-05 01:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 119,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/717063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexaCardew/pseuds/AlexaCardew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt Anderson and Blaine Hummel. Childhood best friends until Blaine's mother passes away and he moves to Columbus. Seven years later, Blaine returns to Lima and tries to befriend his former BFF. But Kurt resists, wary of Blaine's intentions after years of abuse at school as well as at home. Blaine is set on regaining Kurt's trust, but will Kurt let him in before it's too late or is he just somebody that Blaine used to know?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**_Kurt_ **

 

Kurt Anderson was seven years old, when he met Blaine Hummel during recess at his new elementary school. He had to leave his old school, after one of his teachers, Mrs. Meyers, saw the bruises on his back when he changed his t-shirt after being pushed into a puddle of mud. His mom always told him, he wasn't allowed to tell anyone where he got the bruises from, because that would make her sad. Kurt didn't want to make his mommy sad and told his teacher he fell out of a tree.

Three days later, a nice looking woman came to visit his mom and dad and Kurt had to tell her about his tree climbing adventures. The same day, after the lady had left, they packed up the house and Kurt had to get into the backseat of his dad's car and sit down between stacks of boxes.

When he woke up the next morning, they weren't in Indiana anymore, and Kurt found out that his parents had suddenly moved him to a town called Lima in Ohio.

The kids at his new school weren't nice to him. They made fun of his ripped and dirty jeans and pushed him around when he said he wanted to play dress up with the girls. There were no teachers like Mrs. Meyers around, and he had to stay in the classroom a few times because his teachers caught him yelling bad words at the kids who pushed him around and wouldn't let him on the swings. Kurt wouldn't have minded having to spend every break inside, but the teacher called his parents and his daddy made sure Kurt never said a bad word to a mean kid again.

**_Blaine_**

 

When Blaine Hummel was six and a half years old, his mommy got sick and had to spend a lot of time in the hospital. Blaine never wanted to leave her when she had to go to that place and so his daddy found a new house for them closer to the hospital.

His dad had explained to him that moving to a new house meant that Blaine had to go to a different school, but Blaine didn't care. He usually made friends fast, and was good at hiding from bigger kids who tried to steal his lunch money.

His first day at school, a big boy named Dave came up to him during recess and told him to give him his lunch. Blaine glared at him and when he saw that the teachers weren't watching, he kicked the other boy's shin and ran away before he could hit him back.

In a corner of the courtyard were a row of bushes and Blaine dove to hide behind them nearly colliding with someone else. A little boy about Blaine's age was sitting behind a bush, his hands wrapped around his knees and his head hidden in his lap.

"Please don't hurt me," he whispered. "I don't have anything else I could give you." Blaine tentatively reached out a hand and put it on the other boy's whose face he still couldn't see. He had brown hair that was falling into his eyes and looked like he was in desperate need of a hair cut.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise," he whispered back, afraid the big mean kid would find them if he spoke any louder. To prove that he really was no threat, he pulled a sandwich out his pocket and ripped it in half. His mom had made it for him, because she'd felt better this morning.

"Do you want half of my sandwich?" he asked the skinny boy and finally the boy looked up, still looking scared. He had blue eyes and was incredibly pale, which made the bruise on his cheek stand out even more.

"You okay?" Blaine asked when he saw the bruise and the boy nodded frantically.

"I wasn't looking and ran into a door," he whispered and Blaine nodded. He loved climbing on things and jumping off after, so it wasn't unusual to see him with bruises as well.

"I'm Blaine," he said, holding out the hand that held the sandwich in front of the boy. After Blaine gave him an encouraging smile, the boy slowly reached out and took the sandwich. "Kurt," he whispered before taking a small bite of Blaine's PB&J sandwich.

"Like from the 'Sound of Music?" Blaine asked excitedly, but Kurt looked confused. "Don't you know it?" Kurt shook his head.

"I'm not allowed to watch TV. My dad says it would give me the wrong ideas."

"Oh, okay. You know my mom wanted to name me Kurt at first too, because she watched the movie a lot before she had me. But my dad said no, because it sounded like his name, which is Burt, so she named me after another film, 'Pretty in Pink'. You have to come over to my house soon so I can show you. Watching movies isn't the same as watching TV, so don't worry," he added when Kurt looked scared.

"You want me to come over to your house?" Kurt asked incredulously and Blaine didn't understand why this was a big deal. Hadn't Kurt been invited over to other kids' houses before?

"Well, you're my friend now, right? I mean we shared a sandwich and I don't share my lunch with people who aren't my friends. So now that we are friends, you have to come over to my house in the afternoon so we can play together. Or we could go to your house, but my mommy is sick so I don't want to be away from her when she isn't in the hospital."

Kurt looked at him with wide eyes. "I've never had a real friend before," he admitted shyly and Blaine pulled him into a hug.

"Well, you have me now and we are going to be the bestest of friends," he promised his new friend.

***

When Blaine came home from school that day, he ran up to his mom's room and threw himself into her arms.

"Did you have a good day at school, baby?" his mommy asked and Blaine nodded before telling her all about his new friend.

"His name is Kurt and he has really pretty blue eyes and pale skin, like a Disney prince," Blaine gushed, before asking his mommy something he didn't know the answer to. "Mommy, can princes marry other princes as well or does it always have to be a prince and a princess?"

His mom opened her arms for him and Blaine carefully crawled into her lap. "I guess that depends on where the prince lives, but sure a prince can love another prince just like a prince can love a princess and two princesses can love each other," his mommy explained and Blaine smiled at her. He was glad he had his mommy around to explain things and hoped that she would get healthy again soon.

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt was hiding in his bedroom doing his homework, because his daddy was sitting downstairs drinking beer. When he did, his daddy was never nice to Kurt. Unfortunately his mommy wasn't a lot nicer, but she never hit him, so he knew she loved him. Downstairs the telephone rang and Kurt wondered who it could be. People rarely called their house. Moments later, there was a pounding on his door, before it was ripped open and the telephone was thrown across the room. Kurt cowered in his chair as his mom advanced on him.

"What did you tell that boy?" she asked in a scary voice and Kurt looked at his mommy not understanding what she was talking about.

"Who?" he whispered.

"I just got a call from a Burt Hummel telling me to send you over to their house tomorrow after school, because apparently his son won't stop talking about you."

"Blaine's my friend," Kurt whispered and his mommy laughed.

"Something must be wrong with him then, if he wants to be your friend."

Kurt felt tears well up in his eyes, because there was nothing wrong with Blaine. He really hoped Blaine still wanted to be his friend, when he saw him at school again.

"Can I go over to Blaine's house?" Kurt asked, hoping his mommy was in a good mood and would say yes. His mommy sighed.

"Fine, but I tell you something. You keep your big mouth shut, because otherwise we might just have to leave you behind the next time you force us to move, are we clear?"

Kurt nodded frantically. He had tried to tell his mommy that it hadn't been his fault they got visited by the lady, but his mommy had never believed him. He would do anything his mom wanted, if he got to have a friend.

**_Blaine_ **

Over the course of the school year, Kurt and Blaine did become the bestest of friends as Blaine had promised. Kurt spent most afternoons over at Blaine's house, where they did their homework together or Blaine showed Kurt his favorite movies. They discovered that they both liked singing and often entertained Blaine's mom with duets from Disney movies.

Blaine had only gone over to Kurt's house a few times, but he didn't like it there. Kurt's mom and dad always looked at him weirdly and Kurt had barely any toys they could play with. He also didn't like being away from his mom and whenever she wasn't in the hospital Blaine spend every waking moment with her. He had hoped that his mom being in the hospital a lot meant she would get better, because the doctors were giving her a lot of medicine. But after listening in to his mom and dad talk, Blaine knew she wasn't getting any better.

He was glad he had his best friend around whenever his mommy had to go back into the hospital, because Kurt always knew how to make him feel better - inventing stories in which they were both knights or princes, who beat the dragon who had stolen his mom from his dad and returned her to safety. Kurt also didn't mind it when they sat close together on the couch or went through his mom's clothes and tried to put them on. The other boys at school didn't like any of those things, so he stopped hanging out with them, because they were always mean to Kurt. They were both friends with girls for a while, but then they didn't want to hang out anymore as well, because they thought boys had cooties. Blaine didn't think so, because Kurt was his best friend and would never make him sick.

A few months after his eight's birthday, his mommy had to go back to the hospital and they put her into a room Blaine wasn't allowed to go into. He spent hours in Kurt's arms crying his eyes out. Kurt just let him cry and Blaine was surprised when Kurt started crying as well. His best friend explained, that he was crying because Blaine's mommy was always so nice to him and he didn't want her to be sick.

That night, his daddy asked Kurt's parents if he could stay the night at their place, because he wanted to stay in the hospital with Blaine's mommy. Being at Kurt's place was weird, because Kurt was cooking dinner for them and cleaned up after, while his parents sat on the couch watching TV. He didn't say anything though, because Kurt made his favorite food for him. At night, Kurt's mommy didn't come to tuck him in and Blaine was forced to sleep on the floor, because boys didn't share a bed according to Kurt's daddy. Blaine didn't understand, because he and Kurt took naps on his bed together all the time, but Kurt's dad looked kind of scary, so Blaine kept his mouth shut. As soon as Kurt's daddy was gone, Kurt crawled out of bed and gave it to Blaine, because he didn't want to make him sleep on the floor. Blaine tried to convince Kurt that they could sleep in the bed together, but Kurt said it wasn't allowed and it would make his dad angry if they got caught. Blaine kept tossing and turning all night, worrying about his mommy and when Kurt's mom came to wake them up the next morning, he was super tired. A few minutes later, his dad showed up at the front door and Blaine ran into his arms when he saw his daddy was crying.

"Daddy?" he asked with a small voice.

"I'm so sorry buddy," his dad sobbed, "but mommy went to sleep last night and didn't wake up again."

Blaine blinked, trying to make sense of what his daddy was saying. "Mommy's gone with the angels to heaven," his daddy continued and Blaine sank to the floor. He was sure, he would wake up from a nightmare any minute now, but when he opened his eyes again, Kurt had his arms around him, tears running down his face.

He barely noticed his dad picking him up and putting him into the car, as his heart was breaking and he felt more lost than he had ever felt before in his life.

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt wanted to follow Blaine when his daddy carried him from the house, but his dad yanked him back inside, gripping his arm so tight that he was sure he would get another bruise. "Wipe your face," he ordered. "Only girls cry."

Kurt only cried harder because Blaine's mommy had always been so nice to him, nicer than his own mommy had ever been and he wanted to comfort his best friend.

A hand colliding with his cheek finally brought him back to the present and Kurt rubbed his burning cheek while at the same time trying to wipe away his tears.

"Go to your room," his mom ordered, after handing his dad a bottle of beer. "I don't want to see your face for the rest of the day."

Kurt was used to going days without food, but he hated having to miss school, because his mommy was afraid someone would see he had been hit. He ran downstairs to his room and buried his face into his pillow. He wanted to be back at Blaine's house, where they would sing songs he wasn't supposed to know to Blaine's mommy and help Blaine and his daddy work on cars in the garage. He just didn't understand, why his mommy and daddy were so mean to him, when Blaine's were always nice even when Blaine did bad things.

**_Blaine_ **

"My daddy got a job in another city," Blaine told Kurt under tears a few days before Kurt's ninth birthday. He didn't want to move away, because now that his mommy was in heaven, he had only Kurt and his daddy left and if he didn't protect Kurt from the mean kids at school anymore, then who would?

"When are you leaving?" Kurt asked, his own eyes starting to water.

"The day after your birthday," Blaine answered. He had begged his dad to wait until after Kurt's birthday, because Kurt didn't have any other friends and he didn't want him to be alone. "But it's going to be okay. We can write each other letters and talk on the phone and dad said you can come visit us all the time until school starts again."

"I'm going to write you every day," Kurt promised, before scooting closer and wrapping his small arms around Blaine's back. Blaine hugged him back tightly. "Just promise that you won't forget about me," he whispered and Blaine's heart broke, when he heard the desperation in Kurt's voice.

"Never," he promised. "I could never forget my bestest friend in the whole world."

**_Kurt_ **

His own parents hadn't remembered it was his birthday again, but Kurt was used to that. Having a small party with Blaine, his dad and a few of Blaine's friends from his soccer league at Blaine's house was bitter sweet.  Because Blaine would move away the next day and would leave him behind with the mean kids at school who thought he was their personal punching bag and kept locking him into closets or gave him swirlies, because he never had any lunch money and often not even lunch they could take away from him.

The next morning, Blaine and his dad drove over to his house and when Blaine threw himself into Kurt's arms, he never wanted to let go. But when he heard his dad come down the stairs, he let go of Blaine immediately and wiped his face so he wouldn't get caught crying again. He stayed rooted on the spot, long after the car carrying Blaine away from him had driven out of sight, until finally, he unfroze and down to his room to write his first letter to Blaine.

Blaine had promised he would never forget about him, and Kurt wanted to prove that he would never forget about his best friend either.


	2. Now and Then

**_Kurt_ **

The day after Blaine moved to Columbus, Kurt's parents both got cell phones and disconnected their landline. Because Kurt wasn't allowed to touch their phones, it left him no way of calling Blaine. His mom had said that unless he could pay for his phone calls, he wasn't allowed to use the phone anymore. At least he could still write letters to Blaine, because his neighbor always gave him a few dollars for mowing her lawn and his mom hadn't found his money stash yet.

For the first two weeks he wrote to Blaine nearly every day and tried to ignore his mom when she told him, Blaine couldn't forget about him fast enough, each time she collected one of his letters. Blaine was probably just busy with moving to a new city and making new friends. He wouldn't forget about Kurt because he had promised it.

Weeks turned into a month however, and after five weeks of no contact with Blaine, Kurt was ready to start believing his mom, when she told him that Blaine probably just found more interesting friends. Kurt spent the rest of the summer before fourth grade hiding out in his room as much as he could, because the mean kids from school were now playing on his street and his dad had lost his job again and was spending all his time at home.

It was a hard learned lesson, but one he apparently needed to learn. It was foolish to put trust in other people because they were just going to disappoint you in the end and leave you broken hearted and alone.

*** 

Whoever had come up with that stupid 'It get's better' slogan, had apparently never met Kurt Anderson, Kurt thought as he was scrubbing his skin furiously, trying to get rid of the stench. How was getting pelted by pee balloons at school and punished for ruining his clothes at home afterward, it getting better? The only thing that had changed over the years, was that Kurt was faster now, having had lots of practice running away from his bullies, and when his dad was drunk enough Kurt stood a good chance of getting away from him before he could get hit.

It had gotten worse over the years, especially after someone had sprayed 'fag' over his locker in seventh grade and the principal had called his mother. He still could remember every hurtful thing she said about him that afternoon when he had come home from school, denying the accusations of course but to no avail.

He admitted the truth, after he had hit his head on the coffee table. A particularly hard shove from his dad, had made him stumble and down he went. After his secret was out in the open, Kurt had thought things couldn't get worse. But he had been wrong. After he had confirmed that he was indeed a 'dirty little fag' as his mother, Sally, had called him, his father, Paul, had amped up his physical abuse. However, what still hurt him the most was his mother's verbal abuse. He could deal with bruises, sprained wrists and ankles. Broken bones healed over time, but his mom's words were leaving deep scars inside of him.

Finally satisfied with his smell, Kurt turned off the shower and stepped into the tiny bathroom he was allowed to call his own. His parents might have thought it was a punishment, but his basement room was his refuge from all the abuse going on upstairs. Under the counter he located the creams he usually put on his bruises, and started dabbing them onto his marred skin. His ribs were aching from when his father's fist had collided with his chest, and he pulled out the rest of his medical supplies and started wrapping them up, hoping nothing was broken this time.

Going to the hospital always sucked because he had to come up with even more lies to explain his injuries, but he was also too afraid to tell someone the truth. What if they didn't believe him or worse, thought his parents were doing the right thing? And he had also heard the horror stories about kids in the system and he didn't want to be like that. He was fourteen already and if he just got through the next four years of school, he would leave Ohio for greener pastures and never look back.

He prodded at his ribs a few times until he was sure they weren't broken, before pulling an oversized t-shirt over his head. All his clothes were second hand and if he hadn't developed some sewing skills none of them would fit at all. When Kurt asked for a new pair of shoes or other essentials from time to time, the answer was always the same. They didn't have the money to buy Kurt things he hadn't earned. Lately it had been hard biting his tongue, because it was honestly not his fault his dad couldn't hold down a job and his mom didn't want to work either.

He would have gotten a job himself so he could buy some nicer things, but since his parents had found out he was gay, he had to come home from school straight away each day, so he wouldn’t get up to doing perverted things, his mom had said. He had no idea what she meant by that, though the slurs he sometimes found decorating his locker had advanced his sexual education quite a lot, and he hated that he was now basically a prisoner in his own home.

He had high hopes for high school, because when kids got older they had to become more mature, right? And maybe he could even convince his parents to let him join a club so he'd have something to do after school.

***

Tears were streaming down his face as he hid under the bleachers, waiting for the football team to finish up so he could finally go home. He should have known that fighting back wouldn't make things better, but he couldn't take Karofsky's abuse anymore and had yelled at him in front of everyone in the hallway.

Karofsky had grabbed him by his jacket and had dragged him into the boy's locker room but instead of beating him up as Kurt had suspected would happen, he had pinned him up against the row of lockers and had pressed his sweaty lips against Kurt's, not letting him go even as Kurt struggled to get away. Kurt was a good hundred pounds lighter on his heavier days and didn't stand a chance, but the kiss hadn't been the worst thing. The worst thing had been not knowing how far Karofsky was willing to take it. Fortunately, the door to the locker room had opened and his tormentor had released him immediately. Kurt had run out of the locker room, nearly colliding with a boy with a Mohawk and the big boy who had held his school bag once before he was thrown into a dumpster. All he wanted to do was get home, but then he realized that his bag with his house keys and school books was still in the locker room. He didn't dare go back in there as long as the football team was still at school and so he resigned himself to waiting around until they were done. He'd be in trouble either way – either for 'losing' his bag or for being home late.

Kurt was counting down the days to his high school graduation, but unfortunately it was still three months and fifteen days till the start of his junior year and two more years of high school. He wiped the tears of his eyes as well as he could. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing him cry. He wasn't broken yet, and he refused to give them the power to do it.

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine called Kurt's number the moment they arrived at their new house in Columbus, but it was Kurt's mom who picked up the phone and she told him Kurt was too busy right now to talk. Blaine didn't understand because Kurt was never too busy to talk to him. He tried again a few more times but nobody answered the phone. Blaine threw himself into helping his dad unpack and hang posters in his new room.

It was weird living in a smaller house with just his dad, but Blaine tried to keep smiling for his dad's sake. It got harder though each day that passed without a return letter from Kurt and after five weeks of writing Kurt letters and never hearing back from him, he begged his dad to drive him to Lima so he could see Kurt.

When they got there, a car was in the driveway and there was light on in Kurt's room. Blaine practically sprinted to the door and rang it enthusiastically. Kurt's mom opened the door and frowned when she saw him, but Blaine just gave her his biggest smile and asked politely if he could see Kurt.

"Kurt's at a sleep over with his new friends," Kurt's mom told him and Blaine frowned. Why was she lying to him? He was sure he had seen light in Kurt's room and five weeks ago, Kurt didn't have any other friends than Blaine. Did Kurt not want to see him anymore? Was that why he never answered any of his letters? He couldn't believe Kurt would do that to him, but he knew lying was bad so he was sure Kurt's mom was only saying what Kurt told her to tell him.

He was crying the whole drive back to Columbus and not even the guitar his dad promised to get him, could get him to stop. Why did everyone in his life decided to leave him?

*** 

Blaine threw himself into music and sports after he and Kurt lost contact. He made new friends at his new school and joined the soccer team once he started middle school, because he was too small to play football. It was also around this time that he discovered that girls didn't really interest him and so he befriended Toby Philipps, the only out gay kid at school.

At first no one at school seemed to be bothered by their new friendship and he made it through most of middle school unharmed, probably because the only person he had told he was gay was Kevin. When Blaine had come out to him, Toby had asked if he wanted to kiss him and Blaine had said yes, but it stayed a one time thing because they worked better as friends.

It all went downhill however, when Toby asked if he wanted to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with him and Blaine said yes. He was sick of always having to turn down girls with some stupid excuse.

That night, he sat on the living room couch waiting for his dad to come home from work, his legs nervously bouncing up and down. He knew he had to tell his dad if he wanted to go to the dance and he just hoped his dad would be okay with it.

"You okay, kiddo?" his dad asked him when he came in and Blaine gave him a shaky nod.

"I wanted to ask if I could go to the school dance … with a date," he forced out when his dad kept staring at him. His dad chuckled.

"Sure thing kiddo, what's her name?" Blaine took a deep breath. This was it. He had no idea what he would do if his dad didn't accept him. Maybe he could move in with his aunt if his dad kicked him out. His dad cleared his throat and Blaine realized that he must have been stalling longer than he had thought.

"Toby," he whispered and his dad looked confused for a moment before he sank down in his armchair and just stared at Blaine. Blaine fidgeted nervously waiting for his dad to say something.

"You want to go on a date with Toby?" his dad asked and Blaine gave him a small nod. "That okay with your school?" Blaine nodded again.

"There are no rules against it," he whispered.

"Okay then. How are we going to do this? Should I drive you or will Toby's parents?" Blaine blinked. That was it? No yelling or name calling or being called a disappointment like he had seen it happen on TV when kids came out to their parents.

"Maybe," Blaine cleared his throat as it came out as a squeak, "you could drive us and Toby's parents could pick us up after." Burt nodded before he stood up and went to the kitchen to get himself a beer Blaine suspected.

"Are you really okay with this?" Blaine asked when his dad returned and Burt sighed.

"Let's say, I didn't expect it, but you are my son and I love you, so we'll figure this thing out together. Ain't nothing I can change if this is who you are."

Blaine's eyes started to water as he threw himself into his dad's arms nearly knocking his beer bottle out of his hand. In this moment, life couldn't be better.

Unfortunately, the students at school didn't want to let him be happy and Blaine ended up in the hospital before the dance was even over. Someone had spiked the punch and when Toby started complaining that he wasn't feeling too well, they called his parents and asked to be picked up earlier. They decided to wait outside so Toby could get some fresh air and Blaine was so focused on making sure his friend was okay, he didn't even realize that they were being followed until it was too late. The rest of the night was kind of a blur because he hit his head hard when he went down after getting punched in the stomach.

His dad was furious when he found out the school wasn't taking any action because there were no witnesses and it hadn't happened on school grounds. The police didn't do much either for the same reasons. Blaine was afraid to return to school after he had been released from the hospital and he begged his dad to let him stay home and try homeschooling. He knew it was an unrealistic idea. His dad had his job in the garage and Blaine doubted he was even qualified enough to teach him. Times like this he really wished his mom was still alive, because she would have known what to do.

"I found a school for you in another part of the city you can go to till the end of eighth grade. It's in a gay friendly neighborhood so I really hope you'll be fine there," Burt told him a few days later and Blaine felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders. Sure there were people he was going to miss at his old school, but Toby's family had already moved him to another school as well and he wasn't sure his friends still wanted to be his friends now that they knew about him.

The rest of middle school was uneventful, but he was lonely. Most kids had known one another since preschool and weren't really interested in getting to know the new guy who had transferred in the middle of eighth grade. At least no one was taunting him about his sexuality – he had decided he wouldn't go back into the closet, because he was tired of hiding who he was.

The summer before the start of high school, brought with it a new set of problems though. Students were required to attend the high school in the area of the city they lived in, so Blaine would be thrown back in with the boys who had assaulted him. The only solution would be private schooling, but Blaine still protested at first when his dad took out a loan and enrolled him at Dalton Academy for Boys in Westerville which was luckily close to Columbus because boarding at school would have made it even more expensive.

Blaine flourished at Dalton. He joined the school's a cappella group, the Warblers, and became their lead soloist at the beginning of his sophomore year of high school. At parties, boys would come up to flirt with him and Blaine ended up kissing more than a few, but it never went further than kissing.

A year after he had come out, his dad had sat him down with a bunch of pamphlets he had picked up at the free clinic and Blaine had listened to what his dad had said. He knew he was worth more than a meaningless hook up at parties. He hadn't found a boy yet he had really connected with and so he stayed away from dating for the time being. He was still young and had time, and most guys understood. Unfortunately there were also some boys who kept hitting on him even after he had told them no, and Blaine was certainly glad when the worst of them – Sebastian Smythe – moved to Paris with his parents at the beginning of their sophomore year.

His sophomore year was going really well, until his dad had a heart attack shortly after Christmas and fell into a coma for a few days. Sitting next to his dad's hospital bed reminded him of his first and only best friend and how much he had relied on him when his mom had been sick. Some days he wondered what Kurt was doing now – if he had managed to find new friends like Blaine had, or if he was still being mistreated at school.

It had taken him a long time to get over Kurt's betrayal, but now that he was older he couldn't help thinking that there might have been more going on than Kurt just not wanting to see him anymore. There was nothing he could do about that however, because he didn't even know if Kurt was still in Ohio, so he usually forced those thoughts away as soon as they appeared.

His closest friends from the Warblers were there for him though and Blaine was even allowed to stay on campus with them while his dad was in the hospital. When his dad woke from his coma a few days later, a large weight was lifted off his shoulders and Blaine vowed to eat healthier as well, so the necessary change in his diet wouldn't be too hard on his dad.

The school year was coming to a close and his dad was ready to go back to work full time. Everything seemed to fall back into place, so Blaine was surprised when his dad asked him to join him in the living room, a serious expression on his face.

"Everything okay, Dad?" Blaine asked hoping that nothing was wrong with his health again.

"I talked to my boss and he said he won't be able to keep me on because I'm still not allowed to do certain things," Burt explained and Blaine's face fell. He knew how expensive his dad's stay in the hospital had been and without his dad's income things would be hard for them.

"What are we going to do?" Blaine asked, making a mental list of the jobs he could do over the summer to help out.

"There's an auto shop in Lima that went up for sale and I was thinking about making an offer. The house here is paid off thanks to the money your grandfather left us and we should get a decent offer for it even with the recession. I could get a small two bedroom apartment in Lima, so you'd have a room there for when you come home from Dalton on the weekends."

Blaine stared at his dad. He wasn't seriously expecting him to board at Dalton when money was tight and his dad would have to struggle to make ends meet even without Blaine being at Dalton.

"It's okay, Dad. I'm not in love with going back to public school but I think it's time to face my fears and stop running. I'm not a scared little kid anymore and I won't let others bully me anymore. If they don't like who I am – fine. I couldn't care less what they think," he told his dad, smiling widely to prove to his dad that he wasn't scared at all – which for the record, he totally was. Being courageous would only help him as long as things didn't get violent again.

But if it came to blows he wouldn't back down this time. After all, three years of boxing and Dalton fight club had taught him a thing or two. He had left Lima a scared little boy all those years ago and he was ready to show them all that Blaine Hummel didn't back down from a fight if necessary.


	3. Chapter 2: Back to School

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt hadn't exactly been dreading the first day of the new school year, because if you had no expectations you couldn't be disappointed. He knew it would be more of the same – dumpster tosses, slushies, locker shoves, getting locked into janitor's closets – you name it and it had probably been done to him. Unfortunately for him, some of his tormentors looked even bigger when he returned to school in the fall and Kurt knew he would have another hard year in front of him, but another one that would bring him closer to getting out of Lima.

He didn't even make it inside the school, before a big arm yanked him back and pulled him over to the dumpsters. To his surprise Mohawk boy and his friend weren't standing with the football team anymore, and Kurt briefly wondered what made them stop joining in on the 'fun'. Kurt shuddered when he felt Karofsky's hands on his body as he was lifted off the ground and thrown into the dumpster. He groaned as he hit the ground hard, the dumpsters still being practically empty the first day of school, and heard the jocks laugh about him outside.

"Welcome back, fag," someone yelled, and Kurt thought it sounded like Karofsky, hating that the jock was running around throwing insults and punches when he wasn't any better than Kurt.

He waited his usual five minutes to make sure the football team was gone, before starting to climb out of the dumpster. He had gotten better at it over the years, but could still remember the day it had first happened his freshman year. He had slipped multiple times while trying to climb out and had gotten rescued by the lunch lady, who, as soon as he was out, had started yelling at him for stealing their food. Climbing out too soon only got you pushed down again and you definitely didn't want that when the dumpster was empty. This particular school property had caused him more sprained wrists and ankles than his father over the years. Staying in too long meant you wouldn't be able to get rid of the smell without a shower and the locker room was the last place Kurt ever wanted to take a shower in. He didn't have to attend P.E because his parents were afraid someone would see the bruises and had given him a fake doctor's note, but that also meant he really had no business in the locker room.

Before the second bell rang, Kurt quickly ducked into an empty girls' bathroom and changed his clothes, putting the first set into a plastic bag. As long as he got home straight after school, he would be able to wash them before his mom could see, because she always went over to a friend's house in the afternoon.

Satisfied with his outfit, not that is was more than jeans and a t-shirt, he walked over to the principal's office to collect his new class schedule, hoping he wouldn't have to share any classes with the Neanderthals at the school. For once someone must have listened to his prayers because most of his classes were A.P classes and the others weren't classes you typically found jocks in.

He was on his way to his first class, trying to dodge anyone who could cause him harm, when he heard his name called out and a girl with brown hair and a hideous sweater stopped him in the middle of the hallway, either not knowing that you didn't talk to the school freak in public or not caring. Kurt honestly hoped it was the second, even though Rachel Berry could get on ones nerves.

"Wait up, Kurt," she called out and Kurt grabbed her hand to pull her into the bathroom he had just exited a few minutes earlier.

"Do you have a death wish? You can't be seen with me," Kurt glared at her, but Rachel just laughed.

"You might be an even bigger drama queen than I am," she joked, but Kurt didn't have time for that. He needed to get to class, because good grades were the only way to keep his parents off his back and his way out.

"What do you want?" He knew he should probably be nicer to the only person who had tried to talk to him for the past two years, but he couldn't believe she didn't have a hidden agenda. If he hadn't seen the pictures, he would have believed she made up the stories about the two dads to get him to talk to her.

"I just wanted to invite you to our performance in the cafeteria today. Maybe, if you see how good we have become, you'll change your mind and reconsider joining," she told him and Kurt sighed. It wasn't like he didn't want to join, had actually wanted to since the new club had been founded, but singing was not an acceptable hobby in the Anderson household.

Rachel had caught him 'spying' on Glee practice a few weeks after New Directions had been founded and at first he had gotten away with telling her that he wanted to join, but sucked badly. Unfortunately, he had given into the pull of the music one day and had snuck into the empty auditorium, where he sang 'Rose's turn' which was met with applause from none other than Rachel Berry, who had followed him into the auditorium. He had been busted and so he had just told her that he had other things to do, more important things, but Rachel had been trying to get him into Glee ever since.

"I'm sure you are going to be great and also covered in food, but I can't sorry," he told her, before ducking out of the bathroom and heading to his first class before she could catch him and tell him again how important it was for her future career to have a gay best friend. Kurt didn't do friends anymore, let alone best friends, and so he always tried to stay clear of Rachel.

When he finally got to his homeroom, his teacher glared at him and Kurt rushed to the back, trying to keep his head down like he always did when he had to share a room with the McKinley sports population. When he passed Karofsky on his way, he felt the hairs on his arms stand up and he shuddered when he realized where Karofsky's gaze was fixed on his body. He had been lucky a few months back that school was nearly over and Karofsky had kept his distance for a bit after the forced kiss in the locker room, but it seemed like Karofky was redoubling his efforts now, even going as far as leering at him in public.

Why couldn't a nice boy like him? It had to be his chief tormentor who seemed to be into him, unless this was a new strategy by the football team. He had no idea what they would gain from that, but at this school everything was possible. At least Karofsky, and most of the other morons, would graduate this year – well if they actually managed to do it. He was all for making them suffer through the humiliation of being held back, but if it meant getting rid of them, he'd gladly tutor them himself.

By the time his French class came around he was in his third outfit of the day, one that fit the worst because he didn't have time yet to alter it, not that it mattered at all what he wore. Regardless of whether it was nice looking jeans he had managed to find in the local second hand shop or rags he'd been wearing for years, he was always the school freak.

He was in his own world as soon as he sat down, tuning out the incessant chatter of the other students as he read through the list of books required this year, going through a list of bookstores that might have them used. Up front, Mrs. Moreaux was introducing a new student and when Kurt looked up his breath caught in his throat.

The boy was gorgeous and Kurt forced himself to look away immediately, lest he'd be caught staring. Boys usually didn't appreciate getting checked out by other boys and Kurt always did his best not to look at all. Not that there were any who would have reciprocated or that Kurt wanted to. For a moment, Kurt thought he had seen him before, but he shook it off. The boy looked confident, unafraid to face the McKinley student body, and Kurt was sure he would have remembered him, had they met before.

He tried to concentrate on the lesson then, mentally cursing himself for not having caught the new boy's name, but he caught himself staring a few more times. At one time their eyes met and it was as if there was a flicker of recognition in the other boy's eyes, but Kurt quickly looked away and hid under the bangs that were falling into his eyes again.

He couldn't get a crush on the boy, because if he couldn't really bring friends or regular students back to his house, he sure as hell couldn't hang out with a boy he found remotely attractive. He was supposed to keep his depravity out of the house and Kurt was not keen on finding out what would happen if he went against his father's rules.

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine was incredibly nervous on his way to McKinley, because his last experiences in a public school hadn't been exactly pleasant. But he had decided to face his fears headfirst, so here he was, sitting in the new Navigator his dad had given him for his sixteenth birthday a few months back, staring at the front entrance as if that alone would get him going.

To his right a bunch of football players were congregating around a dumpster and Blaine looked at them in distain, because seriously that's where they hang out? Girls in short skirts were milling around as well, but Blaine didn't really care about them. He knew chances were slim that there were any other out gay students but maybe he'd get lucky this year and meet someone he could actually imagine dating.

No one stopped him on his way inside, luckily or called him any names and he made his way to the principal's office unharmed, having to ask for the way only twice. Thanks to Dalton's curriculum Blaine ended up in only A.P classes, but he was sure they wouldn't be as hard as classes at Dalton.

On his way to his homeroom, he passes a board in the hallway where various clubs were advertising. Blaine stepped closer, looking at the different sign up sheets. The one for the cheerleaders was already three pages long and the one for the football team wasn't much shorter.

"You're looking to try out for the team?" a voice asked behind him and Blaine spun around coming face to face with a big woman.

"Excuse me?" he asked confusedly. "We're looking for a new kicker and you seem to be the right size. Got any talent?" Blaine nodded dumbly. Dalton hadn't had an official football team, but he had played often with friends who had played in schools before.

"Great. Four pm sharp in the locker room," what Blaine assumed was the football coach told him before approaching a student who had just pushed another student's books to the floor. The student ran off when he saw her and Blaine wondered if public schools were finally starting to do something about bullying.

As expected, his classes were fairly easy that morning, but Blaine was intrigued by the morose looking boy in the too big clothes who was in all of them as well. He reminded him of someone he used to know, but he brushed it off. He was sure he would still be able to recognize his former best friend, so it couldn't be Kurt. Kurt's eyes would never look this dead. He caught the boy staring at him a few times, but when Blaine tried to smile at him he immediately turned away.

Lunch was interesting to say the least. The school's Glee club suddenly took over the cafeteria and started performing on the tables. Blaine was mouthing the lyrics along with the song, set on talking to someone from the club after the performance about joining. He was lucky to escape the cafeteria with only a few splashes of tomato juice on his arm, and followed the members of the club who were wearing what had been on the menu that day. Half an hour later, after a rousing rendition of his favorite song 'Teenage Dream', Blaine was officially a member of New Directions and possible competition of his former Glee club.

"You and I, we are going to make excellent duet partners," the girl who had introduced herself as the lead of New Directions told him. "Do you have a girlfriend? I know we just met, but if you are single and I am single then I think we should get together because our music could surely benefit from such a union."

Blaine just stared at her not knowing what to say. Was she serious?

"Back off Berry, he is obviously out of your league", a dark haired girl came up to him and ran her hand up his arm suggestively. "If you want to join Britt and I for some fun, let me know. I'm Santana. So you know whose name to scream."

Blaine blushed furiously before shaking off her hand. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, "but I don't play for your team," he added hoping their reaction wouldn't be bad.

The Latina just shrugged before linking pinkies with a blonde girl, Blaine assumed was Britt. "Your loss," she told him before walking off. Blaine looked at Rachel but she looked more excited than disappointed.

"That's great. I've always wanted to have a gay best friend and you can be that now. We can go shopping and have sleep overs," she prattled on and Blaine didn't have the heart to tell her that shopping wasn't really his thing and he didn't know anything about sleepovers with girls after spending two years in an all boys school and never having spent much time with them in the past. So he let her go on, occasionally nodding, just glad her reaction was what it was.

Shortly before four pm he followed some of his new glee mates to the locker room as there was apparently a lot of crossover between Glee and football at this school. Not many students had shown up for the kicker position and Blaine was confident that he had a shot.

Just as he was about to head back to the locker room to shower and change, coach Beiste stopped him, clapping him on the back and announcing him the new kicker. After many high fives with students, Blaine was sure wouldn't even want to be around him if they knew he liked guys, Blaine finally returned to the locker room.

"I heard you turned down Lopez today?" one of the players asked him as he was pulling his t-shirt back over his head. "How come? Don't tell me you have someone hotter." Before he could answer, Puck did it for him.

"Anderson's into dudes."

Blaine froze, trying to keep the memories away from the last time some jocks had found out about him. To his utter confusion the jock shrugged. "Keep your eyes to yourself and don't screw up on the game. But if we lose it's open season, got it?"

Blaine nodded frantically, immediately turning back to his own locker, determined not to look at anyone until he was done. Suddenly an arm was around his shoulder. 

"That wasn't like a secret was it?" Puck asked. "Because if it was, I'm sorry dude. I don't care who you screw as long as you get laid," he added and Blaine tentatively bumped his fist against Puck's offered one.

"Cool," he said, not knowing what else to say. Maybe public school wasn't so bad anymore.

***

The week flew by after that, with football practice and Glee filling up his afternoons. Blaine couldn't believe that he was suddenly popular, even though it had spread like wildfire that he was gay. Girls wanted his advice about boys and boys thought that he had some secret knowledge about girls. Those who might have had a problem with him didn't dare to do or say anything while he was under coach Beiste's protection.

Blaine was glad that his classes weren't too hard, now that his afternoons were filled with after school activities and helping his dad get the shop he bought running.

He had tried to catch the sad looking boy's eyes again, but he was always the last to get in and the first to leave and when he was in class he kept his head down. The girl he was sitting next to couldn't give him a name but told him that no one ever really talked to him, because he would just ignore you or say something mean about your clothes if you said something that wasn't related to what they were doing in class. He apparently always worked on group projects alone as well, convincing his teachers to let whoever got partnered with him to switch.

Blaine was intrigued, but had no idea how to approach him. He didn't think his clothes were worth mocking, unless the preppy look was something bad, but he still didn't want to be on the boy's bad side.

Apparently someone in the universe was on his side, when Mrs. Moreaux announced a group project at the beginning of his second week at McKinley, saying she would partner them up with the people who sat next to them. A girl from his A.P English class usually sat between him and mystery boy, but she hadn't been in class this morning and Blaine was hoping she wouldn't come to this class either.

Finally, Mrs. Moreaux started to call out names, but stopped briefly when she reached Blaine. "I see Ms. Slater is absent today," she observed before she turned her head to sad boy, who seemed to tense under her stare.

"Let's give this another try then, Mr. Anderson. I want you and Blaine Hummel to do this group project together and when I say together I mean together. Are we clear?"

Blaine wasn't listening to Mrs. Moreaux any longer because as soon as he had heard the name Anderson, his heart started to beat faster.

Two pair of eyes met over an empty table and widened in recognition, before one of them abruptly turned away and its owner ran out of the classroom. Blaine remained frozen in his seat as he watched a pair of eyes, he hadn't seen in seven years, disappear.


	4. Chapter 3: First Encounters

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt couldn't believe that the boy he had been staring at in class was Blaine. The boy who had been his only friend growing up, before he had abandoned Kurt and left him to fend for himself. The moment their eyes had met and Kurt saw that Blaine recognized him as well, he couldn't stay in the room any longer.

It was as if the walls were suddenly closing in and it was hard to breath, so he ignored Mrs. Moreaux' yell and pushed past some other kids to get outside. He half expected Blaine to come after him, but then he realized how ridiculous that was. Popular football player chasing after school freak – yeah right.

Hearing Blaine's name again, had brought back a lot of memories Kurt had been trying to forget. 'Worthless, stupid, waste of space', had been the nicer things thrown at him, when his mom had explained why Blaine wasn't contacting him any more. And she had probably been right. What did he have to offer Blaine? After all, Blaine stopped hanging out with other kids because Kurt couldn't handle a few mean words. Blaine had to fight Kurt's battles, because he was too weak to do it himself. Blaine still had to take care of Kurt when his mom was dying. If he had been in Blaine's shoes, he wouldn't have contacted Kurt either. Even Kurt knew that all that wallowing in self-pity was pathetic, but he couldn't help it. He had missed Blaine terribly, praying for him to come back a long time ago.

Well, Blaine wouldn't be giving anything up for Kurt this time. Kurt would let him know that it was social suicide to be seen with him and Blaine would run for the hills. He didn't expect him to throw slushies, because of the rumors that he was gay too, but he most certainly wouldn't want to be around Kurt. And Kurt didn't know if he even wanted Blaine around again. He didn't want to let himself hope only to have it crushed again.

Blaine had broken his heart years ago, by never contacting him again after their tearful goodbyes. And then there was of course the issue with his parents. When you didn't have any friends it was easy to hide things, because when no one cared about you, you could hide in plain sight and still no one noticed something was wrong.

No, Kurt didn't want Blaine around. He had managed what Kurt could never remotely achieve. He was popular in a school that tormented Kurt for being gay, while the rumors floating around about him didn't seem to hurt Blaine at all. Kurt had seen him at his locker the past week, always surrounded by a group of cheerios or the glee girls during classes or guys coming up to him to talk. Not once had his locker been vandalized or a slushie been thrown into his face.

Checking that no teachers were around, Kurt pushed open the door and ran toward the bleachers. Underneath them some students had put old furniture for smoke breaks or making out during classes. Kurt sank down onto the couch, pulled his knees up to his chest and hid his head in his lap. Only then did he realize that tears were streaming down his face.

Kurt couldn't be bothered to wipe them away and let them fall freely. And that's how Blaine found him half an hour later.

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine remained frozen in his seat as his eyes followed Kurt's retreating back. He had entertained the thought before, that mystery boy could be Kurt, but he had hoped it wasn't him. Kurt had been pale before but his skin was nearly translucent now, dark circles under his eyes and hollow cheeks. His often ill-fitting clothes seemed to be several sizes too big on him and Blaine had wondered before if the boy was anorexic or if his skinniness had other causes.

He looked like the boy he had met years ago behind a row of bushes – lonely and broken. Blaine had always been afraid that Kurt might not have fared as well in his life as Blaine had, but to see him now like this was worse than he had expected. Maybe, he should have tried harder when he was younger – not given up on Kurt because of one incident. Maybe, they would both be happier right now.

"I'm sorry Blaine," Mrs. Moreaux pulled him from his thoughts and Blaine looked up to her. "Kurt, he is shy, prefers to work alone. But he'll come around and he is a very good student so you have nothing to worry about." Blaine nodded numbly, eyes constantly flickering to the exit, but Kurt didn't come back to class.

He collected the worksheets for both of them and put Kurt's used looking books into his backpack, which looked like it had been sawn back together a few times. He had no idea where Kurt might have gone but he had his whole lunch break to figure it out.

He wasn't very successful though as he checked in the library and in the car park, but it gave him time to collect his thoughts. He didn't know what had happened to Kurt or what was still going on, but he felt the inexplicable need to get to know him again and help him with whatever problems he had. Kurt had been his rock when his mom was dying and it was time to repay him.

"Blaine," Rachel yelled, and Blaine looked up to see her look at him curiously. "Why are you standing in the middle of the parking lot?" Blaine hadn't realized that he had stopped walking at some point and walked over to Rachel. Maybe she knew Kurt.

"I'm looking for someone. Kurt Anderson. Do you know him?" Rachel nodded.

"We talk from time to time," she explained cheerfully.

"Great, do you know where he could be? He forgot his bag in class." Blaine held Kurt's bag up awkwardly as if he needed to prove that was really why he was looking for Kurt, before he dropped his hand and studied the pebbles on the floor.

"There's this place where the less popular kids tend to hang out – under the bleachers. I think Quinn said she saw him there once during her skank phase."

Blaine didn't know what a skank phase was, but he thanked Rachel and made his way over to the football field and found his way under the bleachers.

Sure enough, Kurt was there, curled up on a ratty old couch, his small frame shaking from the sobs that escaped him. Blaine approached him cautiously but missed a piece of wood on the floor and stumbled over it.

Kurt's head shot up and he immediately started wiping tears off his face.

"Allergies," he said putting on a smile, even Blaine had a hard time telling it was fake. "Sorry for running out on you though. I just prefer working alone and I'm sure Mrs. Moreaux will be willing to let you partner up with Jenny."

Blaine just stared at him. Why was Kurt acting like they didn't know each other? Or did he really just forget about him? Blaine had so many questions now that they were face to face. He wanted to know everything that had happened in Kurt's life over the past few years, wanted to understand the person Kurt was now.

But he saw how Kurt flinched when other students seemed to approach the bleachers, how he curled in on himself when Blaine took a step forward as if he was trying to shield himself from Blaine, so he decided to let it go for now. They had two weeks to work on their French project together – because Blaine sure as hell wasn't switching partners – plenty of time to get to know Kurt again.

"That's okay. Mrs. Moreaux said you're really good at French, so I think I'll stick with you," Blaine said with a smile on his face, but Kurt tensed before he glared at him.

"If you're looking for someone to do your homework, you've come to the wrong person. And if you want to beat me up now, go ahead. I don't give a shit."

Blaine stared at Kurt in shock. Kurt didn't honestly believe Blaine would do that, did he? Just because he wore a letterman jacket over his own clothes now, didn't mean he turned into a violent and stupid jock who forced other kids to do his homework for him.

"What, no of course not. I was just going to suggest we go over to my house this afternoon so we can discuss how we are going to do this. Or yours. I mean, I don't really care where we go," Blaine rambled on.

Kurt gaped at him. "You really are new here," he remarked. "You don't want to do this project with me, all right. It would be social suicide. You seem like a nice guy so I thought you should know. I'll be fine on my own and I'm sure Jenny would be happy to be partnered with you."

Blaine blushed, because he hadn't known that even Kurt had noticed that Jenny was constantly hitting on him though he had told her he was gay. He didn't care about his reputation either and thought Kurt was overreacting. Glee club had jocks and cheerleaders in it and they seemed to get along with the less popular kids just fine.

"Sorry, but Mrs. Moreaux said you had to do it with me, so I guess you are stuck with me," he tried to joke to lighten the mood, but Kurt only tensed even worse.

"So, um," Blaine continued. "Does five at my house work for you? I have Glee this afternoon," he added while scribbling down his address for Kurt, before handing the piece of paper and the backpack over to Kurt.

Kurt looked resigned as he shook his head. "I can only do half an hour after school or during lunch. The library is usually empty during those times so chances are no one is going to see you with me."

Blaine wanted to assure him that he had no problem being seen with Kurt or ask why Kurt couldn't do afternoons; if he had a job after school or if his parents had had another child Kurt had to baby sit in the afternoons, but he kept his mouth shut. He had to count it as a success that he had convinced Kurt to work on the project with him for now.

"Great," he said instead, giving Kurt a wide smile. "I'll see you after school then." With that he turned around walking back toward the school, a real smile on his face. He was going to figure out what was going on with Kurt and maybe then, they could repair their friendship and become what they used to be.

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt didn't understand why Blaine was being so persistent. All the other students had jumped on the chance to change partners when he had offered, and he was sure he could convince Mrs. Moreaux to let Blaine if Blaine wanted to. He couldn't help but lash out and accuse Blaine of just wanting to use him, because that was what he was used to. People trying to force him to do their homework hadn't been an issue since he started taking only A.P classes as the students in it were actually interested in getting an education and the jocks had given up on trying to force him when they realized that slushies, shoves and the likes didn't make him obey. It wasn't like they had offered to stop their torment in exchange for homework help, so Kurt wasn't interested in helping them out.

Blaine being persistent could be a problem, and he hoped that pretending he didn't remember Blaine would solve his problems. If Blaine accepted that Kurt didn't remember him he might give up on wanting to talk to him and Kurt could go back to his life as it were, scraping to get by until he was finally able to leave it all behind. Running away was something he had considered often enough, but he knew he needed an education if he wanted to get somewhere in his life that didn't involve turning tricks on street corners.

Luckily, Blaine wasn't in his last two classes of the day, but Rachel was and he didn't understand nor did he want to know why she kept staring at him. He dreaded having to go to the library to meet the other boy, because being around him made him feel things he wasn't supposed to feel. Why did Blaine have to come back to Lima? He could destroy everything if he ended up getting too close to Kurt and discovered his darkest secrets.

Blaine was already seated on a table in the back of the empty library, books spread out on the table and he pointed at the chair opposite of him when he spotted Kurt. Kurt put his ratty backpack on a chair and sat down next to it. He really needed to get some money for a new one, because he didn't think he could repair it again if it broke once more. He was also embarrassed by the way he looked in his too big clothes that screamed hand me downs, while faced with Blaine's expensive Brooks Brothers outfit.

"I picked up your worksheets after you left and Mrs. Moreaux told us what we had to do. We are supposed to prepare a presentation on someone living or dead and explain why this person is important. They don't have to be from France but should be from a French speaking country," Blaine explained, and Kurt again regretted that he wasn't allowed to do it on his own. He had a lot of ideas but he was sure Blaine wasn't interested in doing a presentation on Edith Piaf or Coco Chanel.

"Who do you want to do it on?" he asked, resigning himself to being bored to death.

"What about Henry Dunant?" Blaine suggested and Kurt's head shot up. He knew Blaine had to be smart to be in his A.P classes but he was surprised by Blaine's suggestion.

"The founder of the red cross?" Kurt asked to clarify, because maybe there was a soccer player or someone he didn't know, but Blaine nodded before he explained.

"I think it would be easy to make a case why he was an important person and I personally find history very interesting." Kurt just nodded, still unable to wrap his head around the fact that Blaine wasn't just extremely good looking but also smart. It was everything he wanted in a hypothetical boyfriend and maybe one day when he was out of Lima, he could meet someone like Blaine and the person would like him too.

Talking to Blaine became easier after they had decided on a topic, but fortunately they steered clear of all topics that weren't related to the project. Kurt stayed distant though, afraid he would get attached if he let his guard down. It was tempting to just give in and hope to pick up their friendship where they had left off, but Kurt knew that was impossible. They were different people now, teenagers who had nothing in common anymore, and they would never be more than acquaintances now – strangers thrown together to work on this project before they would part ways again and go on with their lives separately.

A clock chimed somewhere in the library and Kurt froze, hesitant to look at his watch. As he had feared his half hour had been up half an hour ago and Kurt frantically began throwing his books and papers into his backpack, while a bewildered Blaine watched him.

"I need to go," he told him before nearly sprinting out of the library, ignoring the disapproving look the librarian gave him. He needed to get home to wash his clothes before his parents got back and saw the ruined pieces, because getting bullied was always his fault in his parents' opinions.

Kurt made it home in fifteen minutes instead of the usual twenty it took him to walk home but he was already too late. His parent's car was in the driveway and he could see his mom and dad through the window.

Burying the dirty clothes deeper in his backpack he hoped he could make it down to his room before he was spotted. It would take more time if he had to wash them in a sink, but at least his mom wouldn't find out about it.

"Where have you been?" his mom immediately yelled though, when Kurt opened the door and stepped inside, instinctively stepping back when he was faced with the wrath of his parents.

"I, I" he stuttered trying to come up with an excuse that would get him off the hook.

"Answer your mother, you ungrateful little shit," his dad got up from the couch, grabbed his wrist and yanked him into the living room. Kurt stumbled but managed to catch himself before he could fall.

"I had to stay longer for homework," he whispered but his mother just looked at him disgustedly.

"Don't lie. Which whores were you around, ha? I hope they gave you all kinds of diseases for being a dirty fag." Kurt flinched but he heard worse things coming from his mother's mouth.

"It's the truth, " he tried again, but before he could finish his dad's hand collided with his cheek, catching him off guard. He stumbled and before he could catch himself another blow sent him tumbling down, landing on the edge of the coffee table.

Kurt squeezed his eyes shut tightly, knowing that crying in front of his parents would only make it worse. He pulled himself of the ground and picked up his backpack with the hand that hadn't collided with the table. Neither of his parents stopped him when he limped downstairs and Kurt breathed out a sigh of relief when he was finally in the basement and safe in his room.

In his bathroom, he swallowed some Tylenol, dismayed that he only had a few left before wrapping up his aching rips, after making sure nothing was broken, and icing his sore wrist. It was just his luck that he had instinctively put forward his right hand when he had been falling, because writing was going to be a bitch now.

After the meds kicked in and made the pain more bearable, Kurt forced himself to finish his homework before lying down on his bed for a nap, planning to wash his clothes as soon as he woke up and felt better.

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine had been late for Glee as well and he had a hard time concentrating with his thoughts being focused solely on the events of the day. So much had happened in just a few hours and he couldn't wait to get home to talk to his dad about it.

Rachel had to elbow him twice as he kept stopping to sing in the middle of the song they were rehearsing for Invitationals and Blaine was glad it was a group number because it would have been even more embarrassing had he been singing a solo.

"So did you find Kurt?" Rachel asked when they were done, a strange smile on her face. Blaine just nodded not really in the mood to talk to her right now, but she might have some answers he was dying to get.

"He seems a bit shy," he volunteered and Rachel took the bait.

"It's just that people in this school aren't very nice to him so he likes to keep to himself. No one knows much about him because he won't really talk to people. We are on speaking terms though and one of these days I'm going to convince him to join Glee. I know he wants to, I can see it in his eyes whenever he sees us perform, so I know he'll cave eventually."

Kurt had had a sweet voice as a child and if Rachel Berry was running after someone to join their club, which seemed out of character for her and he had only known her a week, Kurt must be really talented.

Maybe he could bond with Kurt over music like they had done in the past. It had worked once, so why wouldn't it work again?

His dad was already home from work, watching 'Deadliest Catch' in the living room, a can of light beer next to him, and Blaine nodded approvingly. He had expected to have to fight his dad on everything food related after his heart attack, but Burt had apparently taken it as a wake up call and barely complained when he and Blaine sat down to healthy meals most of the time.

"Did you have a good time at school?" Burt asked when Blaine joined him on the couch and Blaine nodded. McKinley still managed to surprise him, but he was also aware that he had to make sure the team didn't lose its first game if he wanted to maintain the status quo.

"I met Kurt at school. Kurt Anderson," he told his dad and his dad turned to face him.

"You don't seem too happy about that," he observed. "I know you were hurt when the two of you lost contact but it's been seven years."

Blaine nodded. "It's not that I'm not happy to see him again, but something seems off about him. I can't put my finger on, it but it seems more than just having to deal with bullies at school. I tried talking to him, but he either doesn't remember me or he for some reason pretends to not remember me. I don't know what to do," he admitted. He liked pretending he knew what he was doing, but most of the time he didn't.

"Well, invite him over for dinner. It'd be good to see that kid again. You know your mom and I always liked him."

Blaine nodded and let his dad squeeze his shoulder. "And what if he says no?"

"Then you'll just be there for him so he can see he can trust you with whatever it is that is bothering him. You can't force him to be your friend but you can let him know that he can be your friend if that is something that he wants."

Some days it was hard growing up without a mom, but Blaine didn't know what he would do without his dad. It was definitely time to get his dad a new 'best dad in the world' mug.


	5. Chapter 4: Bullies and Study Dates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Mentioning of past self harm and suicidal thoughts

**_Blaine_ **

When Blaine got out of his car the next day and started walking across the parking lot, he saw a commotion by the dumpsters many of his teammates hung out at every morning. He had arrived earlier than usual that day, anxious to see Kurt again and to make some progress, but he froze when he saw a big linebacker drag Kurt in the direction of the dumpster.

By the time his legs decided to work again, Kurt had already been thrown over the edge and his teammates were slowly walking off while teachers walked toward the school without even looking in their direction. Blaine felt his blood boil and he wanted to scream at them to do something, because now he understood why the jocks hung around the dumpster. Their movements were too practiced for it being the first time and his heart went out for Kurt. No wonder Kurt didn't trust Blaine when his own teammates were torturing him.

When he finally reached the dumpsters, he pulled himself up to look over the edge and saw Kurt wiping off what looked like yesterday's lunch. His eyes widened when he spotted Blaine before they hardened.

"Come to mock be?" he asked holding his head high, but Blaine could hear his voice crack. Blaine shook his head and offered Kurt his hand to help him climb out. Kurt pushed it away at first, but after nearly slipping on something Blaine didn't even want to know what it was, he grabbed Blaine's hand.

The sudden extra weight pulled Blaine forward and he wished, not for the first time, that he were stronger and taller. He pushed his legs against the dumpster for leverage while Kurt held onto his hand as he climbed out. His hand fit perfectly into Blaine's he thought before shaking his head and turning to the task at hand. Kurt was still covered from head to toe in the contents of the dumpster and was unsuccessfully trying to clean himself off.

"I'm so sorry, Kurt," he blurted out, horrified by his teammates behavior, but Kurt just waved him off.

"Don't bother, it's nothing I'm not used to." There was nothing Blaine could say to that, so he went with an empathetic smile, but Kurt just glared at him. "I don't need your pity. And now if you excuse me I need to get changed before the smell sticks."

Kurt pushed past Blaine, but Blaine managed to keep up this time. "We are still on for working on the project, right?" he asked as he followed Kurt to a side entrance. Kurt nodded.

"I can't do this afternoon though. I need to wash those before my parents get home and see them," he said pointing at his ruined clothes, before suddenly stopping in his tracks. "I mean, I don't want them to see, because they'd just be worried," he quickly added and Blaine nodded. Keeping bullying from parents was something he understood. He had kept a lot of things from his dad as well, because he was worried about his heart, like the football team telling him he was only safe as long as they were winning.

"Hey, I get it. It's okay if we only do lunch in the library today.” They had reached the door by then and Blaine knew Kurt would run off as soon as they were inside.

"By the way, I told my dad about you and he invited you over to dinner. Let me know if you can make it any time soon," he told Kurt and walked off, before Kurt could say no or react to the announcement. If Kurt was angry he'd have to come to the library to talk to him.

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt glared after Blaine as he made his way to an empty girls' bathroom to get changed. He hadn't wanted Blaine to find out about the dumpster tosses and was glad that Blaine usually arrived after he had already climbed out again and was on his way to school.

People usually looked the other way and Kurt hated the way Blaine had looked at him, once he had managed to escape from the dumpster, covered in day old leftovers.

It also wasn't like Kurt didn't want to see Blaine's dad again. It was just painful, because as he remembered, Burt had always been so kind to him, while his own dad was a total asshole. He had felt safe at Blaine's house, because there was no yelling and punishment for misbehavior didn't mean bruises or being locked in his room. The nearly two years he had spent at Blaine's house had been the best of his life and that was just pathetic.

He longed for the day when someone noticed that something was wrong beyond the bullying, but he was also afraid of that day, so he kept the few people who wanted to talk to him at bay.

If he had someone like Burt in his life, he would report his parents in a heartbeat, but he had heard the horror stories, heard what happened to gay kids in the system. He couldn't risk it, taking his father's abuse over what he'd have to deal with there any day.

Stuffing yet another outfit into a plastic bag - food cushioned your fall but made it harder to clean up afterward - he stepped outside the bathroom and nearly collided with Rachel Berry.

"I thought I saw you come in here," she told him cheerfully, but Kurt tried to ignore her and walked over to his locker with Rachel following right behind him.

"Invitationals are in a week and I just wanted to personally invite you," Rachel told him as he retrieved his books from his locker, Rachel as usual not caring that people were starring at her. Kurt caught Blaine standing next to his own locker a few rows down, watching his and Rachel's conversation, but when he realized Kurt had caught him, he looked away quickly.

Rachel was giving him an odd smile when he looked back at her, but that girl was crazy so who knew what that was about. When he looked back in Blaine's direction, he was surrounded by the Cheerios again, the two girls he recognized from Glee performances each having linked their arms with him. Jealousy reared its ugly head for a moment and when he looked away he understood why Rachel was smiling at him that way. He'd seen her look the same way at the tall boy who was friends with Mohawk boy and the blonde cheerleader who had a baby last year with Mohawk boy. He might not have friends at McKinley, but not even he had missed the biggest scandal the school had had in years.

He and Rachel both had to accept one thing, they weren't getting what they wanted. Blaine's invitation had been nice but he was sure Burt had put Blaine up to it, because there was no way popular Blaine Hummel would actually want to be his friend outside of the group project and he would definitely never date someone like Kurt.

He couldn't even let himself hope, because he didn't know how much more heartbreak he could survive in his life.

**_Blaine_ **

"So Rachel tells me she is trying to convert you to a Gleek as well," Blaine broke the silence. They had met up at the same table as the day before, with Blaine already waiting for Kurt. Kurt had sat down silently, wearing different clothes than he had this morning, without mentioning what Blaine had asked him in parting. He looked even skinner in them and Blaine wanted nothing more than buy him an unhealthy lunch. He wasn't going to push Kurt though. He had all the time in the world and he was going to listen to his dad's advice. He couldn't force anything but he could spend time with Kurt and let him know he wasn't alone anymore.

They had spent the first fifteen minutes on research – Blaine on his laptop and Kurt looking through books he had found in the library - when Blaine asked the question. He was wondering how Kurt turned in assignments when he wasn't carrying a computer around like most students, but that was one more question he'd like the answer to, but knew that asking it would make Kurt run for the hills.

Kurt looked up before quickly looking away and shrugging. "I don't know why she keeps asking. I'm really not that good." Blaine scoffed, because really, Rachel wouldn't keep bugging Kurt if he weren't incredibly talented.

"You were the perfect Jasmine to my Aladdin all those years ago. If your voice is still anything like that, you'd rule Glee," he told Kurt, finally addressing the elephant in the room. Kurt had either already forgotten that he was pretending not to know Blaine or he was just caught up in the moment, because he smirked for a moment, before telling Blaine that maybe he was just too shy and that if Blaine was still as good as he was as Aladdin he was glad he was still singing.

Blaine wished he could talk to Kurt about what had happened with them in the past, but he wanted Kurt to stay somewhat relaxed around him and so he was glad that before Kurt could realize what he had just admitted and freaked, or Blaine could spook Kurt, they were saved by the bell and agreed to meet up again, the same time tomorrow, so Kurt could go home immediately when school was over.

**_Kurt_ **

Without having to stay after classes with Blaine, Kurt got home twenty minutes after his last class had ended. Unfortunately his mom was already home and Kurt greeted her with a smile when he walked into the house, hoping she was in a good mood for once.

He stopped though when he saw the pile of dirty clothes on the coffee table, suddenly remembering that he had planned to wash them after his nap, but he had slept until the morning and had forgotten all about it when he realized he had slept through his first alarm.

"You want to tell me why we even buy you clothes if this is how you treat them?" his mom asked and Kurt took a step back. His mom had never hit him herself, but what she was saying to him most of the time was bad enough.

"I'm sorry but it's not my fault," he tried to explain. "There are those boys at school who," he continued but his mom cut him off. "So you expect us to pay for this when you are too much of a girl to stand up to a bunch of boys. If you weren't a disgusting fag none of this would happen."

Kurt didn't have the strength to remind her that things like that had happened long before he had come out officially, because in his mother's eyes, just existing was what was wrong with him. He couldn't count how many times she had told him she'd have aborted him if she had had the money, and lots of days he thought it would have been better if she had.

"I can't even look at you right now. Go to your room and don't show your face. If you treat the things we spend our hard earned money on like this, you don't deserve the food we pay for either."

Kurt was no stranger to being sent to his room without any food. Most days he got by with what leftovers the new lunch lady gave him because he never had any lunch money and his mom sure as hell wasn't packing him any lunch.

Today, it was harder than usual because he had spent lunch break in the library with Blaine and hadn't had anything to eat apart from two apples he had stolen from a neighborhood tree. Still, it could have been worse. Had his father been home, he would sure have some new bruises by now.

His dreams of a better future were the only thing keeping him going most days, and days like this, when his stomach hurt from the lack of food, were the hardest; were those days, where he just wanted to take his dad's razor and slash his wrists so he wouldn't have to deal with all that anymore.

But he didn't want to give them the satisfaction. A few years ago, he had cut his own skin when the pain had become unbearable, but he knew his parents would probably like it if they knew he was hurting himself so he had stopped after a few weeks. Still, there were days when he just wanted to end it all, even if that meant giving up and taking the easy way out.

Ignoring his stomach, he pulled out his books and started on his homework hoping it would distract him, but it wasn't easy that day. Spending the lunch break with Blaine had shown him for a brief moment, how things could be, and now that he was back at home, it was harder to deal with it.

He was trying to finish an essay for his English class when heard a car drive up to the door and he tensed. The front door slammed shut and Kurt waited with baited breath, before getting off his bed and turning the lock he kept reinstalling regularly.

Only a few minutes later, his dad, obviously drunk, started pounding his fists against the door, screaming profanities when it didn't open. Kurt curled up in a ball hoping his dad was drunk enough to give up soon. His door usually held but there had been one time when it hadn't and Kurt hadn't attended school for a week because of 'a cold'.

Luckily, this time his dad gave up after a few minutes and Kurt heard the stairs creek as he walked back upstairs. His stomach clenched again painfully, but Kurt tried to ignore it, glad he had escaped a beating.

He went to bed early, hoping sleep would help with the pain and slept fitfully, waking up every few hours. After getting dressed the next morning, he tiptoed upstairs but fortunately no one was in the kitchen or living room. He found a hotpocket in the fridge and ate it without heating it up first, afraid the microwave would wake up his parents.

He was still hungry when he left for school, and hoped the nice lunch lady would give him some leftovers.

And if he got lucky, Blaine would arrive late for school, so he didn't have to see him get thrown into a dumpster again.

 


	6. Chapter 5: One step forward, two steps back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: suicidal thoughts

**_Kurt_ **

He had barely walked five minutes, when a car stopped next to him on his way to school. Kurt remembered a bit about cars from the time he had helped Blaine's dad in the garage, so even he knew that it was a nice car. It wasn't really a surprise when the passenger door was opened from the inside and Blaine smiled at him.

"Car trouble or did you miss the bus? If it's the first one, I know an excellent car repair shop," Blaine joked and Kurt nodded, hoping he wouldn't have to elaborate. He wasn't a fan of lying to people and usually it wasn't necessary because they didn't care enough, but it was different with Blaine. Blaine knew more about him than anyone else at school, so Kurt didn't have a chance but lie to him.

"Well, get in or do you really want to walk all the way to school?" Kurt did not want to walk to school that morning. It was hot for early September and the sun was already burning down on him. At least, his pale skin was the perfect excuse for why he wore long-sleeved t-shirts even during the summer. Everyone who had ever bothered to ask him about it had bought the excuse when he said he wanted to protect his skin.

Kurt put his backpack on the floor, before climbing into the car and closing the door. "Do you live somewhere around here?" he asked Blaine when he started the car and hoped the answer was no.

Blaine shook his head. "I had to drop off parts for my dad in this neighborhood. We live close to the stadium." Kurt remembered briefly glancing at the piece of paper with Blaine's address on it before throwing it away.

He didn't know what else to say and so just sat back and listened to Blaine sing along to the radio. He still sounded amazing and Kurt couldn't wait to see him perform.

"You can let me out here," he suggested when they were only one block away from school. "So people don't see me getting out of your car," he added when Blaine looked confused. Blaine didn't comment, but Kurt didn't like the way he looked at him. To make things worse, his stomach growled loudly at that moment and Blaine started digging through his bag when he stopped at a red light, before handing him a granola bar.

Kurt felt his face flush and he wanted nothing more than just jump out of Blaine's car and start running, but Blaine must have suspected he'd try and had locked his car door before he stopped at the red light.

"I figured you didn't have time for breakfast if you were late for the bus," he said not taking his eyes off the road, which Kurt was grateful for as he sank his teeth into the granola bar. He was still a bit hungry and he wished he had home ec today so he could cook something, but the classes would be more bearable now that he had had something to eat.

Blaine parked the car close to the front entrance and waited next to Kurt's door for him to get out. Once he realized Blaine wasn't giving up, he climbed out of the car reluctantly. He had been embarrassed enough the day before and he really didn't need Blaine to see him getting thrown into the dumpster again.

To his surprise, Blaine didn't leave his side as they walked across the parking lot, ignoring the stares of the other students. From the corner of his eye he saw Azizmo and Karofsky approach him and Kurt tensed.

"Good morning, Coach," Blaine, suddenly and rather loudly, greeted the teacher who was on the other side of the parking lot, and Kurt relaxed at bit when the jocks turned around and walked away.

For the first time since his second month of freshman year, Kurt wasn't thrown into a dumpster and he could barely believe that all it took was one student willing to stand up for him.  Or maybe just luck that the scary football coach was around this time, he quickly amended because Blaine hadn't really done anything. He could still say he hadn't known about Kurt and made an honest mistake by giving him a lift.

Still, he walked into the school in clean clothes, making his day so much better already than usual. He was sure though that the football team wouldn't let him get away from them without retaliation, but for that one moment he allowed himself to envision how things would be like if everyone left him alone.

As soon as Blaine turned around the corner to go to his own homeroom, a strong hand clasped his shoulder and shoved him hard, harder than usual, and Kurt collided with an open locker, cutting his cheek on the edge. He sank to the floor willing his body to stop trembling. This was what happened when he let his guard down. He let them catch him off guard and hadn't managed to cushion his fall.

"Stay away from Hummel," Karofsky sneered at him. "He knows how to be a homo without rubbing it in your face and I don't want you to make him like you," he continued, but Kurt realized it was all for show. He shuddered when he caught Karofsky subtly checking out his body and he felt dirtier than he usually felt after a dumpster toss. He had hoped the big, sweaty jock would stay away from him for good after the forced kiss, but judging by his recent actions, he was doing the exact opposite.

He managed to drag himself into his clean up bathroom, before tears spilled over. The bullying usually didn't make him cry anymore, but what Karofsky had said this time, coupled with his actions, had hit him hard.

There was no way he could change the things they hated about him. He wasn't even wearing flamboyant clothes or styled his hair a certain way. They took offence in his voice, which was higher than other boys', in his features, which were too soft, and in his body in general - he was too effeminate in their opinion. But all those things he couldn't change about himself, he could try to deepen his voice, but that just made his throat hurt and he could probably gain some muscles but in the end it wouldn't change anything.

He knew it wasn't Blaine's fault for being an alpha gay, for being allowed to be himself even by the football team, but he still resented him a bit for it. It just wasn't fair that Kurt got constantly told he was wrong and Blaine got off scots free.

He splashed some cold water onto his face to erase traces of his tears before wiping his face with a paper towel and putting on a fake, 'I don't give a fuck about any of you' smile.

Rachel was already waiting for him outside the bathroom, but Kurt pushed past her. "Not today, Rachel. Not today," he told her before stalking off to his own first class, his skin crawling under his clothes so bad that he wished he had put on another outfit anyway.

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine decided to keep an eye out for Kurt between classes, after separating from him this morning. He had seen the looks his teammates had given Kurt and he was sure they would try to get to him somehow, because Blaine had made their dumpster mission impossible.

He wanted to tell his teammates what he thought of their behavior but he was on thin ice as well, and if he wanted to look out for Kurt he need some kind of protection himself. He could talk to the coach because she seemed to care about the students at school, but he really didn't want to experience the wrath of a football team if he ratted them out.

Kurt was nowhere to be seen when he walked to his last class before lunch, one he didn't share with Kurt either, but most of the team were hanging around in the hallway, so Blaine wasn't too worried about Kurt. He would have offered to walk him to and from classes, had he thought there was a chance Kurt would accept the offer.

He admired Kurt for being strong and independent but he also wished the other boy would let others help him, instead of pushing those away who tried.

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt had fully composed himself again by the time his third class of the day had ended and now all he felt was anger. He didn't get angry all too often, usually resigned to the fact that things were never going to change, but some days he wanted to punch someone and scream in their faces, because what gave them the right to make his sorry life even more miserable?

He was on his way to his last class before he would meet Blaine in the library, when he ran into Karofsky again, moments later drenched head to toe in purple slushie and something snapped inside him and he made a rash decision. Karofsky was still yelling insults as he was walking off toward the locker room and Kurt wiped the slush off his face and started running after him.

As soon as the door to the thankfully empty locker room closed behind him, Kurt started yelling, while trying to wipe off more of the shlushie at the same time.

"Fuck you, Karofsky. Who the hell do you think you are to do that to me? I'm sick and tired of you treating me like the dirt under your shoe and it stops now," he yelled. Karofsky gaped at him for a moment, clearly surprised by Kurt's outburst before he took a step toward Kurt, which made Kurt back into the door.

"Or what?" he asked menacingly and Kurt swallowed. He didn't believe in outing, but Karofsky made it impossible for him to keep his secret.

"Or I tell everyone at school your dirty little secret. Let's see who's the disgusting fag then," he threatened but flinched when Karofsky was suddenly in his face.

"No one would ever believe you. I can do whatever I want because no one is ever going to believe anything that comes out of your mouth." Kurt saw him lick his lips as he looked at Kurt's mouth and Kurt tried to get away but he had backed himself into a corner.

He tried to push Karofsky away, when his lips were once more on Kurt's but Karofsky just pinned his arms against the door. It felt like Karofsky's hands were suddenly everywhere on his body and Kurt felt the bile rise in his throat.

"I don't want you," Kurt spat when Karofsky finally pulled back to take a breath, clearly not bothered by the fact that Kurt was unresponsive and struggling to get away. "I would never want a guy like you. You want to be in the closet, fine. But keep your disgusting hands away from me."

He knew he should keep his mouth shut before he made Karofsky do something even worse, but he couldn't hold it all in any longer. He knew classes were starting soon again, and if he could just keep Karofsky talking until the other students came to the locker room, maybe he would get away from this remotely unharmed.

"You keep your mouth shut and let me do what I want or I tell everyone your dirty little secret," Karofsky sneered before yanking back Kurt's sleeve to reveal the nasty bruise caused by his fall onto the coffee table.

"Of course I have bruises, you idiot. You and your friends throw me against the lockers every day," he exclaimed, but Karofsky chuckled darkly.

"You know my aunt used to come up with stupid excuses as well before she finally left that douche bag of a husband."

Kurt gasped. "Then why are you doing this to me?"

"Because you're weak and I can. If you let people push you around and don't do anything against it, you deserve it," he growled, before he suddenly released Kurt as students were approaching the door.

Karofsky grabbed him by the front of his t-shirt and pushed him away from the door onto the floor.

"Look who I found in here, trying to sneak a peak at my junk," he told the students coming into the room. "Thought he needed help cooling off."

The laughter of the other students followed Kurt as he fled the locker room, tears streaming down his face for the second time that day. By the time he had cleaned up and changed his clothes the bell had long rung, and Kurt sank down onto the floor of the empty bathroom.

He usually never cut classes, too afraid his parents would find out, but the teacher teaching this class was one of the kinder ones and she would understand when Kurt told her why he couldn't make it to class. He spent the rest of the hour on the floor, trying to take his mind off the events that had just transpired, but was unable to do so. He wished he had brought a toothbrush to school with him, but had to settle on cleaning out his mouth with water. He felt sick to his stomach, but there wasn't enough food in it to make him throw up. The day had started out so well, but had rapidly turned into one of those, where he just wanted to end it all, if he didn't do all his tormentors a favor if he did.

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine's class had let out early and he quickly grabbed a sandwich in the cafeteria, hoping Kurt would share it with him, before rushing to the library. Like the two days before it was empty apart from the grumpy old librarian, and Blaine sat down at their usual table, pulling his books and laptop out of his messenger bag. Next to his bag he put a stack of sheet music for his bonding attempt with Kurt.

When Kurt came in a few minutes later, he was wearing different clothes than he had in the morning, and Blaine cursed, because he had apparently failed Kurt again. His eyes were red rimmed as well and Blaine immediately rushed over to him.

"Kurt, what happened? Are you okay?" He didn't really expect an honest answer but he had to ask. Kurt just waved him off like he always did.

"It's nothing. Just got some slushie in my eyes." Blaine clenched his hands into fists, because what kind of school allowed slushie machines when most of it ended up on the floor and he expected the school had to clean it up.

Letting it go for now, he sat down and started working with Kurt for the next half hour.

"Oh shit, I bought the wrong sandwich," he suddenly improvised as he pulled it out of his bag. "Really not a fan of tuna. I'd feel bad throwing it away, would you help me out and take half unless you already had lunch."

Kurt looked skeptical for a moment, but Blaine must be a better actor than he thought he was, because then Kurt shrugged and accepted half of the sandwich. Blaine made sure Kurt got the bigger half and made the appropriate faces as he ate his half of the delicious sandwich, glad the librarian wasn't looking in their direction.

"What's that?" Kurt asked when he was done, pointing at the stack of sheet music.

"It's for Glee. We are supposed to find songs that would also work well as duets. You really should join Glee, because with our uneven number someone always has to sing with Mr. Schuester and apparently he always makes the performance all about him.”

Kurt glared at him. "Did Rachel tell you to ask me?" Blaine shook his head.

"I told you I think you'd sound good and I thought you'd enjoy it."

Kurt's expression softened, but he shook his head. "As I've told her countless times, I can't." Blaine nodded, pretending to accept that before he asked, his face the picture of innocence.

"If you can't join Glee, would you at least consider singing with me. I have this great song in mind and I want to see if it would work as a duet. The only one I really have sung with so far is Rachel and Finn told me in not so many words to back off because he is trying to get her back, and apparently in Glee they do stuff like that in song."

Kurt looked unconvinced at first, so Blaine subjected him to full on puppy dog eyes - they worked on his dad so why wouldn't they work on Kurt – until Kurt finally gave in.

"Fine, but I can't do it after school."

"That's okay. The choir room is usually empty during lunch break and we're pretty far with our presentation already so I think we can skip a day," he told Kurt as they were packing up and got ready to leave the library.

Kurt looked much happier than he had when he had come into the library when they parted ways and Blaine couldn't keep his own smile off his face. He made a detour to the choir room on his way to his next class, where the choir teacher, Mr. Schuester, was sorting sheet music on the piano.

"Can I help you Blaine?" he asked when Blaine walked inside.

"I found a prospective new member but he is a little shy and might need some convincing that he is actually good enough. He agreed to sing with me tomorrow during lunch break and I was wondering if you could listen in from the office and give him feedback afterward," Blaine asked his teacher.

"That's great Blaine. Now that Lauren quit we need a new member anyway if we want to be able to perform at Sectionals without having to use one of the band members again."

Blaine left the choir room with a spring in his step. He was going to get Kurt into Glee, because he needed a little glee in his life – pun intended.


	7. Chapter 6: Dinner Surprise

**_Kurt_ **

When Kurt got home from the disastrous day at school, he rushed to his bathroom and scrubbed his teeth for a good five minutes before putting his dirty clothes into the washer. After putting his backpack on his bed, he went back upstairs to check everything was in order before his parents came home from wherever they were at the moment.

On the kitchen table was a note for him, written in his mom's neat handwriting telling him they were at a friend's house in Dayton and wouldn't be back till the next morning. She also told him that the house better be spotless by the time they came back and that he wasn't to go anywhere.

Kurt knew they had no way to check up on him, unless they neighbors were spying for them, as he didn't have a cellphone and their landline had been disconnected the day after Blaine had moved. He checked under the note to see if they had left him any money, but wasn't surprised that they hadn't. The fridge was in the same sorry state it had been in this morning, but now the last of the frozen dinners were gone as well, and the only thing in the fridge now was beer and tequila.

Kurt didn't mind cleaning the house, because he liked things clean and if he didn't do it they would live in a disgusting mess, but his stomach was grumbling when he finished vacuuming the floor and wiping down the kitchen counters. He was glad now for the food Blaine had given him, because it looked like he would have to go hungry for another day as he had no money left in his room.

The nice neighbor had unfortunately died a few years back and with her, Kurt's only source of income. He wished he could get a real after school job, but maybe it was good that he wasn't allowed because it would probably suck even more, if he earned money and had to give it to his parents.

Hoping his homework would distract him from his empty stomach, he went back downstairs and pulled his books from his backpack. He worked steadily for the next two hours, dealing with math equations, an essay for his English class, and reading a few chapters for biology and history, before he went upstairs to get a glass of water before he'd start on his French homework.

French was his favorite subject and he was pretty much fluent in it by now, because he hoped that knowing a foreign language would help him later in life.

He stacked the already finished homework on his desk, before turning back to his bed looking for his French book. It wasn't on his bed, and tipping his backpack over didn't bring it to light either. Kurt knelt down to look under his bed, hoping it had just fallen off, because he needed to do his homework. He couldn't afford to not turn it in, not even once, because one thing he knew all too well – bad grades equaled a beating.

Blaine must have put it into his own bag he realized and for a moment he hated Blaine for causing this problem. He had no way of contacting Blaine because he didn't have a phone and didn't have Blaine's number either. He cursed himself for throwing out the piece of paper with Blaine's address on it, but even if he knew it, it would take him over an hour to walk to the stadium, as he didn't have a car, driver's license or money for the bus.

He was screwed.

**_Blaine_ **

When Blaine got home from football practice he couldn't wait to jump into the shower. He didn't feel comfortable showering in the locker room with his teammates, especially after seeing what they did to other students.

He washed the rest of the gel out of his hair, glad he wasn't using the ridiculous amount he had at Dalton anymore. He had felt like he belonged, with his curly haired neatly gelled down, and styled like the rest of the boys, but now that he was a McKinley, he was fine wearing it mostly au-naturel. It saved him a lot of money and he didn't have to constantly wash his pillow because he laid down before washing his hair.

He was humming, working on his arrangement for Glee, when he stepped out of the shower and quickly got dressed in comfortable black jeans and a Dalton hoody. He took his laptop out of his messenger bag, before emptying it onto his bed. The laptop he put onto his desk, before turning back to the mess on his bed, where he noticed a second French book next to his own – Kurt's Blaine realized.

He didn't know much yet about new Kurt, but he knew Kurt took school very seriously and would probably freak if he had to do his homework before class for once. It also gave him a good excuse to stop by Kurt's house, and maybe meet his scary mom again. He hadn't packed Kurt's book on purpose, but now that the idea was planted in his head, he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before. Not the book stealing, but the just showing up at Kurt's doorstep with some flimsy excuse. Blaine stuffed the book back into his bag and walked downstairs, where his dad was watching 'Top Gear' in the living room.

"Hey dad, do you still remember the Anderson's address?" he asked his dad, hoping that Kurt hadn't moved in the past seven years. The neighborhood where he had picked Kurt up, had felt familiar but he couldn't be sure.

"He forgot to tell you or are you just going over there?" his dad asked, eyebrows raised and Blaine blushed. "I accidentally took one of his books and know he'll want it back. I don't have his phone number either, so I thought I just drive by and give it back."

His dad still smiled at him knowingly, but Blaine had no idea why he did. He didn't have the time to think about his dad's weird behavior. "Do you remember it or not?"

"Let's say it's a good thing that we old people still do things the old ways," his dad chuckled before going to the room in the back, designed as his office, but used just for storage. Moments later, he returned with a black address book and began flipping through the pages.

When he found the right entry, he ripped off a piece of paper from the day old newspaper and scribbled down something before handing it to Blaine.

"Thanks dad, you're the best," Blaine told Burt, after reading the address. It sounded familiar and Blaine jumped into his car, typed the address into his GPS, and drove over to Lima Heights. Buildings were smaller here, and the color was peeling off most of them, but Blaine wasn't really surprised Kurt lived in that neighborhood.

As a child he hadn't noticed a lot of things, and they had spent most of their time together in Blaine's house, which had been in another part of town as well.

The house the GPS sent him to was small, but the moment he put the car in park in front of it, his memories came back. Looking up to Kurt's room where the light was on, and his mom telling him Kurt wasn't home. It definitely was the right house, but no cars were in the driveway this time, and so Blaine hoped someone was home and the house still belonged to the Anderson's.

He rang the doorbell and when nothing happened at first he rang it again, not willing to give up so easily. He was about to ring the bell for the third time when the door was yanked open, and Blaine came face to face with a frantic looking Kurt.

"I don't want to buy anything, now go away," he said before he realized who he was talking to and his eyes widened. "Blaine," he stuttered, pulling on the hem of his oversized t-shirt. The sweat pants he was wearing looked like they had been in his possession for years, but Blaine again, ignored Kurt's awful clothes and just smiled at him.

"What are you doing here?" Kurt asked, his body blocking the entrance to the house and Blaine could tell he wasn't really welcome, though he didn't understand why. Had Kurt company?

"I saw that I packed your French book as well as mine and thought you might want it back," he told Kurt, making no move to actually hand it over. Kurt's eyes were looking left and right before he finally stepped aside and let Blaine pass.

He didn't remember much about Kurt's house, just that he never felt at home there. It was clean now, but it still didn't give off a very homey vibe. The furniture was sparse and worn down, cigarette burns were all over the couch and empty beer bottles lined the walls in the living room. There were no pictures up on the wall and the color was peeling inside as well. He had never consciously thought about it before but now that it was right in front off him, he couldn't ignore it any longer. Kurt was poor, plain and simple.

Kurt wore clothes that didn't fit him, because he probably couldn't afford new ones and he was awfully skinny, probably because his family couldn't always afford food. It also explained his pride, not wanting to accept handouts, but Blaine was dead set on helping Kurt out as much as he could, without treating him like a charity chase. All he had to do was get Kurt to open up to him, so he could figure out what he needed.

Piece of cake, right?

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt was wallowing in self-pity when the doorbell rang the first time, and he really wasn't in the mood to deal with some door to door salesman at the moment, so he just ignored it. Whoever was at the door though didn't give up, and so Kurt rolled off his bed, and walked back upstairs to the front door, yanking it open and telling the salesman to fuck off.

The moment he realized that it wasn't in fact a salesman but Blaine, his eyes widened and he froze for a moment, because this couldn't be happening, Blaine couldn't be here. The house was clean, but he still didn't want grown-up Blaine inside it. But then again, he also didn't want him on his doorstep because what if the neighbors saw Blaine and told his parents.

His mom would be convinced they were doing something they definitely weren't doing and he would be in a whole lot of trouble. Yeah, better get Blaine inside before the neighbors could see him, Kurt thought as he reluctantly stepped aside to let Blaine into the house.

He trailed after him, as Blaine looked around, feeling embarrassed by his living situation. "Do you want a glass of water? I don't think we have anything else at home apart from beer, but you can have one if you want," he offered. Blaine shook his head.

"Me and beer haven't been the bestest of friends since the last party with the Warblers."

Kurt looked at Blaine quizzically. Blaine was partying with birds? Blaine must have sensed his confusion because he quickly elaborated. "The Warblers was the name of the a cappella group at my old school – Dalton Academy." Kurt swallowed, because Dalton was the school he would escape to if he had any money. He couldn't believe Blaine would just give it up for McKinley.

"Why'd you leave?" he asked Blaine as he got two glasses of water from the kitchen.

"My dad had a heart attack earlier this year and when he was finally feeling better he lost his job. He told me I could board at Dalton while he moved to Lima and took over the auto shop on W. Elm, but I couldn't let him do that for me. I went to Dalton for two years and that cost enough already," Blaine recounted and Kurt realized that there were a lot of things he didn't know about Blaine either.

The Hummels had never been rich either, so he assumed something must have happened to Blaine to get Burt to send Blaine to Dalton. "He is okay now though, right?" Kurt asked. He wasn't ready to talk about the past with Blaine because he was dreading the inevitable what happened question, but he needed to know Burt was okay.

Blaine nodded before sitting down on the living room couch, careful not to sit down on any stains, causing Kurt's face to color in embarrassment yet again. Just as he sat down on the other end of the couch, his treacherous stomach growled in front of Blaine, the second time that day, and Kurt wanted nothing more than bury his head in his hands until Blaine left and vowed never to talk to him again.

"Have you eaten yet? I could totally go for pizza right now. I'm just the kicker but they made me do a full training today," Blaine offered but Kurt didn't want him to buy him food yet again.

"My parents are out of town and must have forgotten to leave me some money. I was just going to cook something later," he said, hoping Blaine would get the hint and leave but Blaine just gave him this charming smile of his and pulled out his phone.

"Pizza it is. You might be able to wait a bit longer, but I'm starving," he said before ordering a family size pizza with four different toppings and telling the delivery service Kurt's address. Blaine mentioning he was starving made Kurt feel guilty for a moment because he'd been eating Blaine's food all day, but then he reminded himself that Blaine had given up his food voluntarily.

"Do you maybe want to do the French homework with me, while we are waiting for the pizza?" Kurt asked shyly, because being alone with Blaine still made him nervous. It made him want to spill his guts to Blaine, and therefore, as much as he liked Blaine's company, it was company he shouldn't keep, if he wanted to keep things from Blaine.

Blaine just smiled and handed him back his book, and before Kurt could react, Blaine was sitting directly next to him, leaning in close to be able to read the book as well. Kurt tried to keep control of his breathing as he inhaled Blaine's smell, and to calm his rapidly beating heart before he made a fool out of himself in front of Blaine.

Yes, getting closer to Blaine was definitely a bad idea.

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine had felt Kurt tense when he leaned in closer to be able to read the book as well, and he tried to put some distance between them so he wouldn't scare Kurt off, but it was like he was drawn to the other boy. They finished in record time, Blaine just copying whatever Kurt was saying in the end because he had a hard time concentrating.

The pizza hadn't arrived yet and so Blaine stretched his hands over his head as he looked around once more. "Don't I get a tour," he joked. "It's been a while."

He saw Kurt tense yet again, but he still nodded and got up from the ratty old couch.

"Um, so yeah. Living room and kitchen," Kurt said, pointing awkwardly, before leading Blaine to a door leading to the basement. "Uh, Kurt. Why are we going to the basement?" he asked because if they were in a horror movie, now would be the time to scream, don't go down there, run for your life.

"I live down here," Kurt said as if a kid living in the basement wasn't a big deal. At least down here he would have more space than he had had upstairs. Kurt's bedroom had been tiny, and the one time Blaine had slept over, the night his mom had died, they wouldn't have been able to fit a mattress had Kurt's parents offered one.

The walls in the basement were gray, and Blaine thought that with a little color Kurt could have an awesome room down here. Under a small window stood a table, on which and next to which, Kurt's used books were stacked neatly. He didn't have a bookshelf or any other furniture aside from a broken dresser and small bed with worn down looking sheets. There were no posters on the wall, no pictures of family or friends, no CD player or TV, and he hadn't seen a computer anywhere in the house either.

"Where do you type your assignments?" Blaine blurted out and Kurt's face turned red again and Blaine hated that he made Kurt feel like he had to be embarrassed about the way his family was living.

"I'm allowed to use a school computer during homeroom if no other students are using them. If not I have to hand them in handwritten which sucks, because the teachers always deduct points and I can't afford to have anything other than As."

Blaine was surprised to get such an honest answer but immediately regretted asking when he caught Kurt's expression. He didn't like the way Kurt said he had to have As and he was starting to get a really bad feeling about Kurt's situation. His parents sounded super strict, with Kurt having to come home right after school and putting so much pressure on Kurt to have good grades. He hoped they were just doing it so Kurt could have a better future and life than they had.

"You can always borrow my laptop if you need to type up an assignment," Blaine offered but unsurprisingly, Kurt immediately shook his head.

"It's fine. Most of the time I can do it at school and I really don't mind getting out of homeroom. I wish they were doing it alphabetically because even Azizmo would be better company than Karofsky."

Kurt stopped in his tracks, but Blaine already knew what his teammates were doing to Kurt. What he hadn't been aware of was that some of them were apparently worse than others.

"I'm really sorry about them, you know. I wish there was something I could do," he said knowing that platitudes weren't helping Kurt but he had nothing else to offer at the moment. Maybe he could swing by Kurt's house again the next morning and drive him to school, so the bullies couldn't throw him into the dumpsters. He couldn't just sit back and let others torment Kurt now that he was aware of what was happening.

"Thanks Blaine, it's nice of you to care. People usually pretend it isn't happening or just don't care," Kurt said sounding so defeated, Blaine wanted nothing more than pull him into his arms and hug the shit out of him so to speak but he wasn't sure Kurt would let him, and he didn't want to destroy the bit of trust he had earned so far.

And as for the computer situation, he would just have to find a way to help Kurt out, if he liked it or not.

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt was on edge most of the evening, but it got easier the longer Blaine stayed in the house. He was surprised the other boy hadn't run away screaming so far, but couldn't keep the small smile off his face when they sat down together on the living room couch to eat their pizza.

Blaine kept telling him stories of his misadventures with the Warblers, about missing his friends who had graduated already and those who were still in Westerville and Kurt was listening with rapt attention, wishing he could have gone to a school like that as well. He was glad though that Blaine's life seemed to have turned out okay after his mom had died, but it still hurt that Blaine had forgotten about him so easily and had had no problem replacing Kurt with newer and shinier friends immediately, just like his mom had told him.

He wanted to ask Blaine about that, but he was afraid of the answer even though he was sure Blaine would sugarcoat it.

So he just enjoyed the company, mostly keeping his mouth shut and letting Blaine talk. Kurt envied Blaine's future boyfriend because Blaine was seemingly perfect. He was good looking, smart and funny, had an amazing voice and cared enough about others to risk his own reputation. It was everything Kurt wanted in a boyfriend but would never have as long as he was stuck in Lima, because guys like Blaine were never interested in guys like Kurt. No, guys like Kurt got guys like Karofsky whether they wanted them or not.

He was glad Blaine was willing to spend time in his company, even if it was just as friends – and was that where they were heading? – even though he still didn't get why the other boy even bothered to try to befriend Kurt, when Kurt clearly was not the type of friend a popular kid like Blaine should have or even want to have.

But he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth and so he kept his mouth shut and enjoyed the best afternoon he had had in ages. Blaine's company made him forget about the horrible morning he had had and he wished he could spend all afternoons with Blaine, just like they had done when they were kids. 


	8. Chapter 7: Glee

**_Blaine_ **

As soon as the idea to get Kurt to sing with him had entered his mind, Blaine had sat down and had looked through his iTunes library looking for the perfect song to tell Kurt he was special even if other people couldn't or didn't want to see that.

Thinking of perfect songs, a light bulb went off in his head, and he quickly typed in Pink to get to one of his favorite playlists. He just hoped Kurt had more exposure to music now than he had in the past and knew the song, or that he at least knew how to read music.

Putting his plan in motion, he left his house early again the next morning, after assigning the lines to Kurt he thought most fitting and drove over to Kurt's neighborhood, hoping to catch the other boy before he got on the bus.

Luck was on his side this morning, as Kurt just left the house as he drove onto the street.

"Had to do a delivery again?" Kurt asked, eyebrows raised, when Blaine opened the door for him, and Blaine just shrugged and smiled at him, not caring that he had gotten caught.

"I just wanted to play you the song I want you to sing with me today. The lyrics to it are in the glove compartment if you want to read with the song," he told Kurt and was happy to see Kurt comply.

"Do you know it?" he asked and Kurt shook his head. "My parents only listen to country and hip hop at home," he explained. Blaine stared at Kurt, but Kurt just shrugged before he motioned for Blaine to start the song.

Kurt was mouthing the lyrics to the song as Blaine drove them to the school and a weight was lifted off his shoulders when he saw they had arrived before the football team.

"I like it. It's catchy," Kurt degreed as they got out of the car. "Which part did you want me to sing?" Blaine handed Kurt another piece of paper where Kurt's lines were highlighted, hoping Kurt would get the message, or would at least get it when he sang with Blaine. He was never good with words and liked to express himself through music, and he hoped he would get through to Kurt.

They got inside without being harassed by anyone as they were quite early and Blaine walked Kurt over to the computer lab, where he needed to type up his English assignment.

"I see you in French," Blaine told Kurt, the first class they would have together that day. Blaine liked days where he shared most classes with Kurt, because that meant they could walk to their next class together, unless Kurt would flee again as soon as the bell rang, but Blaine was determined not to lose sight of Kurt today.

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt's day was better than most had been in a while. Blaine had picked him up in the morning again, and because the sun was still burning down on him and because he wanted to get to school before the Neanderthals did, he didn't put up a fight and got into the car.

He liked the song Blaine had picked, because in his eyes Blaine was perfect and if he got to tell him that in song, well, he wouldn't complain. He didn't have time to look at his lines throughout the day but it didn't matter. He had always excelled in the few music classes he had had, and knew he could sight-read if necessary.

Blaine kept to his side between classes, even though he had tried to give him the slip a few times, because he knew Blaine really shouldn't be seen with him, and seeing the glares most of the football team were sending in Blaine's direction only affirmed it for him that Blaine would be better off if he stayed away from Kurt. But Blaine was nothing but persistent and always caught up with him, before any members of the football team could shove him around or slushie him. They might have all been morons, but apparently they weren't stupid enough to try to slushie him while another letterman jacket was close by.

He knew the members of the glee club got slushied as well from time to time, but no one dared to do that either if members of the football team or the cheerios were with them.

It felt weird having his own personal bodyguard and Kurt kept his eyes trained on the floor after their first walk in the hallway, not wanting to see the looks his classmates were giving them any longer. There was nothing he could do to protect Blaine, if Blaine wasn't cooperating because he didn't have the heart to tell Blaine to leave him alone because he didn't want him around.

He was weirdly excited on his way to the choir room when his final class before lunch was over, and not even Karofksy raking his eyes over him could dampen his spirits. He just held his head high and sped up so the jock wouldn't be able to catch up with him before he reached the safety of the choir room, a place where someone like Karofsky surely wouldn't be caught dead in.

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine hated that he couldn't even walk Kurt from class to class without garnering unwanted attention, but if he could prevent it he would not leave Kurt to the mercy of his teammates. As longs as he was wearing his letterman jacket he was somewhat protected, even if it clashed with the rest of his outfit.

He couldn't walk Kurt to the choir room before lunch unfortunately and he prayed that Kurt would get there on his own unharmed. Kurt looked fine when Blaine walked into the choir room after checking that Mr. Schuester was in place for the performance and so he walked over to the piano and sat down on the bench, motioning for Kurt to stand next to him while he played.

He would have preferred to be standing as well, so he could look at Kurt all the time, but he wasn't sure Kurt would have sung with him if Brad played piano for them, and the acoustic versions he had found on YouTube had not been that satisfying. Had he had more time to prepare, he would have recorded himself playing it, but between spending the evening at Kurt's house and still having to do his own homework he had only had enough time to split up the lyrics.

Sure, he could have waited a few days longer, but he wanted to get Kurt into the glee club as soon as possible, because the other boy needed something good and fun in his life.

"You ready?" he asked, putting his fingers on the keys and when Kurt nodded he started to play.

Blaine

_Made a wrong turn once or twice_

_Dug my way out blood and fire_

_Bad decisions that's all right_

_Welcome to my silly life_

Kurt

_Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood,_

_Miss 'no way, it's all good'_

_It didn't slow me down_

_Mistaken, always second guessing_

_Underestimated, look I'm still around_

Blaine

_Pretty, pretty please_

_Don't you ever, ever feel_

_Like you're less than fuckin' perfect_

_Pretty, pretty please_

_If you ever, ever feel_

_Like you are nothing_

_You are prefect to me._

 

_You're so mean when you talk_

_About yourself, you are wrong_

_Change the voices in your head_

_Making them like you instead_

 

Kurt

_So complicated_

_Look happy, you'll make it_

_Filled with so much hatred_

_Such a tired game_

 

Blaine

_It's enough, I've done all I can think of_

_Chased down all my demons,_

_I've seen you do the same_

 

_Oh pretty, pretty please_

_Don't you ever, ever feel_

_Like you're less than fuckin' perfect_

_Pretty, pretty please_

_If you ever, ever feel_

_Like you are nothing_

_You are perfect to me_

 

Kurt

_The whole world stares so a I swallow the fear_

 

Blaine

_The only thing I should be drinking is an ice cold beer_

Kurt and Blaine

 

_So cool in line and we try, try, try_

_But we try too hard, it's a waste of my time_

 

Blaine

_Done looking for the critics cause they're everywhere_

 

Kurt

_They don't like my jeans, they don't get my hair_

_We change ourselves and we do it all the time_

_Why do we do that?_

 

Blaine

_Why do I do that?_

 

Kurt

_Why do I do that?_

 

Blaine

_Yeah_

_Oh pretty, pretty please_

_Pretty, pretty please_

_Don't you ever, ever feel_

_Like you're less than fuckin' perfect_

_Pretty, pretty please_

_If you ever, ever feel_

_Like you are nothing_

_You are perfect to me_

 

Blaine kept his eyes trained on Kurt during most of the performance to make sure Kurt knew the words were directed at him and by the time they finished, there were tears in Kurt's eyes, which he hastily wiped away when he realized Blaine had noticed.

"You know, I really am not," he whispered, but before Blaine could assure him that in his eyes he was perfect as he was, Mr. Schuester came into the choir room, applauding their performance.

"That was great, guys. But if we ever use this song for a performance you have to make sure the lyrics are PG."

Blaine beamed at his teacher, but from the corner of his eye he saw Kurt tense next to him. Mr. Schuester turned to Kurt then.

"Had I known you really are this talented I would have talked to you earlier myself. God knows why I didn't trust Rachel's judgment. It should have been clear you were good when she kept insisting you had to join our club."

Blaine turned to Kurt, giving him a huge smile, but Kurt looked betrayed and before he could do anything, Kurt turned and ran off.

"What are you waiting for? Go after him," Mr. Schuester told him and Blaine unfroze before chasing after Kurt.

He found Kurt under the bleachers again, in the same position he had been the first time he had run from Blaine.

"Why would you do that? I told you I can't join the club and you thought it was okay to dangle something in front of me you knew I can't have," Kurt accused when he noticed Blaine, and Blaine took a step back at the intensity of Kurt's glare, before squaring his shoulders and sitting down next to Kurt on the ratty old couch that only looked slightly worse than the one at Kurt's house.

"I'm sorry, Kurt. When you said you couldn't I thought you just didn't believe in your own talent enough and I thought if I got Mr. Schuester to tell you how good you are you'd want to join. I didn't know you meant I can't as I'm not allowed," Blaine explained, really not understanding Kurt's parents.

Were they some religious nutcases who thought music and technology were a sin or something?

"I want to join Glee but I know my dad would never allow it," Kurt sniffled and Blaine's heart went out for him. One of his friends at Dalton, Nick, had had the same problem with his dad as well, because he thought music made him gay, but luckily Nick's parents had gotten a divorce and Nick had been able to stay at Dalton and in the Warblers thanks to a scholarship.

"What if you tell your parents you have to stay after school for a mandatory school project. This kid in Glee, Artie, is amazing with computers from what I heard. I'm sure he could write you a fake note," Blaine suggested not knowing what else to say, because he really wanted to get Kurt into Glee. Kurt's parents never had to find out and this way Kurt would get what he wanted and everyone would be happy.

"Will you at least think about it?" Blaine asked when Kurt didn't react to his proposal and Kurt gave him a tiny nod.

"Can you leave me alone now? I need to think," Kurt said still not really looking at Blaine and Blaine got up and walked back to school after gently squeezing Kurt's shoulder, hoping Kurt's answer would be yes some time in the near future.

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt hated Blaine a bit for what he had done to him, but at the same time he couldn't hate him. When Blaine had sung those lines to him, he had looked like he meant it and after a life time of hearing how horrible he was and that everyone would be better off if he were dead, someone telling him he was perfect – well he had to pinch himself a few times during the song to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

And maybe Blaine had a point. If he could convince his parents he had to stay after school because of a mandatory project, maybe he could finally join New Directions, something he had always wanted to do.

He wished he could just ask for permission, but he knew what his dad would do to him if he told him that he wanted to sing and dance on a stage. No, if he was going to do this, his parents could never find out about it.

Luckily, his parents never went to PTA meetings – there was a reason why they wanted Kurt to have perfect grades, because it kept them away from school if he didn't screw up – so there really wasn't any chance of them running into other students' parents who could tell them. Not having any friends had its advantages some times.

In the end, the desire to get to sing with Blaine again – hopefully – won out, ignoring the angel on his shoulder telling him this was a bad idea. Lunch break wasn't over yet and luckily the computer lab was empty. He couldn't risk anyone finding out about this and even though Blaine seemed to trust this Artie guy, he'd rather not have anyone else know besides Blaine. It would just subject him to more questions he couldn't and didn't want to answer.

The few times his parents had to sign something for school, they had never read the contents and had usually just signed it to be done with it and Kurt hoped they wouldn't suddenly start looking to closely at what he was giving them.

He quickly scanned the McKinley logo off an old year book and put it on top of an open document, constantly checking that no other students were coming into the room.

Thinking something to do with science would be his safest bet in case his parents read the document, he quickly wrote a note about students being required to spend time in the chemistry lab three times a week after school because of changes in the curriculum, before printing it out and deleting the evidence of what he had done, before someone could discover it.

That day he didn't mind the walk home even though the sun was still unbearably hot, humming 'Perfect' while he walked past the run down houses of his neighborhood, dreaming of the day he would be surrounded by skyscrapers and tolerant people.

His parent's car was in the driveway when he walked up to the front door, but Kurt wasn't worried. He had cleaned up again after Blaine had left and was home at the time he was supposed to.

His mom was nowhere to be seen, probably drinking herself to death at her friend's house – and wasn't that a nice thought – but when he walked into the living room he froze. His father was sitting in his armchair glaring at him, the empty pizza box on the coffee table in front of him.

"Where did you get that from?" he asked and Kurt flinched. "Did you steal from us?" His father stood up and threw the empty box in his direction. Kurt shook his head violently, because that would be the last thing he would dare to do.

"There was a, a bake sale at school and everyone who helped out got to keep a bit of money," he stuttered out but it didn't sound convincing to his own ears either.

"Don't lie to me," his father threatened before Kurt's head collided with the wall behind him. He hadn't even realized he had walked backwards until he was with his back against the wall, but it was no use to hide as always. The ring on his father's finger left a nasty gash on his cheek when his father backhanded him and Kurt swayed on the spot for a moment, feeling dizzy.

"I won't ask again. How did you get that?" Kurt knew he had to tell the truth if he wanted to get away from his dad before something worse happened.

"I forgot a book at school and the boy who found it brought it over. We are doing an in-class project together and he thought it was a good idea to stay for a bit so we could work on it. He ordered the pizza," Kurt choked out.

He curled in on himself, when he ended up on the floor after his confession.

"Andersons don't need charity," his father spat and Kurt nodded frantically. "You better kept your mouth shut," he added and Kurt nodded again.

Just than his dad's phone rang and Kurt knew it was his chance to get away, but he needed to show his father the note first before he chickened out.

"That was your mother. I expect dinner to be ready at six. There's some stuff in the fridge," his dad growled after hanging up and Kurt was relieved to know he would get food today. He had eaten left over pizza for breakfast, but had to skip out on lunch again.

"Yes Dad," Kurt told him before picking himself up from the floor and limping over to his bag. He extracted the fake note and carefully held it out to his father.

His father quickly read through it, not looking too happy, but to Kurt's relief he nodded. "I expect you home fifteen minutes after that thing is over, are we clear?"

Kurt nodded not daring to say anything, afraid to give himself away. He also knew that now wasn't the time to remind his father that it took him at least twenty minutes to walk home on days he wasn't suffering from any injuries. If he got lucky, he could convince Blaine that there weren't any buses when Glee let out and Blaine would drive him home after school.

In his bathroom he quickly cleaned out the cut on his cheek before experimenting  with different kinds of makeup samples he had gotten from a door to door saleswoman of cosmetics – the only useful kind, who luckily always came back even if he never bought anything for his 'mom' – but no matter what he did, he didn't manage to cover the cut and the newly forming bruise on his face.

As much as he hated it, he knew he wouldn't be going to school the next day. But at least now he could just ask to borrow Blaine's notes when he went back to school.


	9. Chapter 8: And so we meet again.

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine couldn't wait to see Kurt Friday morning, hoping Kurt would tell him he'd join Glee. When he drove past Kurt's house, Kurt was nowhere to be seen so Blaine drove to school alone, hoping that Kurt would make it inside without getting targeted by the football team. He didn't see Kurt anywhere inside the school either and before he could convince himself that going over to Kurt's homeroom wasn't stalking, but just one friend looking out for another, the second bell rang and he had to hurry to get to his own classroom.

Unfortunately, he didn't know Kurt's schedule for Fridays and so by the time their first shared class came around, he still hadn't seen his friend anywhere. He sat down in his chair, ignoring Jenny's glare because he had made her switch seats – without telling her – and kept his eyes trained on the door but Kurt never showed up.

"Blaine," Mrs. Moreaux stopped him when the class was over and Blaine got ready to leave. "Can you pass these on to Kurt? Poor boy misses classes quite frequently and always panics over not having his notes and homework assignments," she told him and handed him a bunch of papers for Kurt.

His next classes were the same, Blaine picking up assignments for Kurt, and when it became clear to him that Kurt wouldn't show up that day, made photocopies of all his notes for him.

He knew coach Beiste and the football team would probably skin him alive if he just skipped practice without a good reason, and so he faked a headache and nausea to get a note from the nurse. As soon as the final bell rang, he stole away from the nurses office, handed coach Beiste his note, making sure he looked in pain, before heading out to his car and driving over to Kurt's house.

This time a car was in the driveway, but to be honest he had been hoping Kurt would be home alone again, so he could have taken care of him if he really were sick. Somehow he doubted that because Kurt seemed perfectly fine the day before and now he cursed himself for not thinking about asking Kurt for a phone number.

A vaguely familiar woman in her late thirties, with dirty blonde hair showing off a bad dye job, stonewashed jeans and matching jacket opened the door after he rang it for the second time, a scowl on her face.

"If you're selling cookies, get lost. We ain't buying."

Blaine put on his most charming smile and tried not to show how much he already disliked the woman.

"Mrs. Anderson, I'm not sure if you remember me. I'm Blaine Hummel. Kurt and I were close friends when we were kids," he introduced himself, hoping she would invite him in, but she just looked skeptical and left him standing on the door step.

"What do you want?" she asked suspiciously and Blaine began to think that his theory about Kurt's parents being some kind of nutcases was right.

"Well, I was wondering if I could see Kurt. His teachers gave me his homework and I made him copies of my notes which I'd like to give him."

"Leave them with me. Kurt's sick. He can't have visitors." Blaine tried puppy dog eyes next.

"If you are worried about him getting me sick, I promise to keep it short."

Unfortunately, Kurt's mom was the first person they didn't work on. "And what I don't need is people showing up at my door telling me how my kid got their kid sick. Thanks for the notes but you'll have to wait till Kurt is back in school."

Admitting defeat, he gave her a polite smile. "It was nice seeing you again Mrs. Anderson," he told her, lying through his teeth because what the hell was her problem? With a mom like this it was no wonder Kurt had spent most of his childhood at Blaine's house.

He knew there was nothing he could do right now, but he definitely would talk to Kurt about it as soon as he was back in school, because his mom was just weird.

**_Kurt_ **

His ear stayed pressed against the door throughout the conversation Blaine had with his mom. At first he had freaked when he realized who was at the door, quickly got his mom and hid behind his door, because Blaine couldn't see him with the bruise standing out on his pale cheek.

A part of him had wanted to open the door and show Blaine what was going on of course, while another small part was hoping Blaine would just put two and two together himself, but the biggest part still thought that Blaine could never find out, because he would tell on Kurt and then Kurt would end up in a group home, where he probably would be faced with even more abuse from the other kids for being gay. It was the part that always won, when Kurt contemplated telling someone about what was going on at home and right now wasn't any different. He wanted Blaine to pull him into his arms and take him away, but at the same time he was also afraid of Blaine finding out. He had tons of baggage and not everyone would want to be around that.

As soon as the front door closed, the door to the basement was yanked open and Kurt nearly lost balance taking a step back, but caught himself before he could fall.

"Blaine Hummel? What the hell did you tell him?" his mother asked angrily.

"Nothing, I swear. He and his dad moved back to Lima and we have been assigned to do a project together for French. That's all," Kurt quickly explained.

"He the boy your father told me about?" Kurt nodded not liking that she was asking so many questions.

"He like you?" Kurt knew what she meant by that and he knew that if he wanted to have any chance of being allowed to keep seeing Blaine, he had to lie.

"He's on the football team, mom. He's just nice to me because he doesn't know anyone else yet," Kurt whispered.

Sally nodded and turned to leave but before she did, she turned back once more. "You think you can trust him. Well think again. He's going to drop you like he did last time as soon as he finds better friends in that school of yours. Mark my words."

Kurt slowly walked back downstairs trying not to let his mom get to him. Blaine wasn't a kid anymore and if he didn't want to see Kurt anymore he would tell him or he probably wouldn't have tried to get him into Glee club. To completely block out his mom's voice, he pulled the lyrics to 'Perfect' out of his bag, his fingertips ghosting over the lines Blaine had sung to him.

No, if Blaine was just biding his time with him until someone better came along, he wouldn't have gone to the length he did to befriend Kurt again – right?

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine's weekend was boring. The Warblers were out for some bonding experience with the new members, to which Blaine, as possible competition now, was not invited. He wasn't really friends with any one at his new school yet apart from Kurt and although he and Rachel seemed to get along quite well, he was sure that Finn would have a problem if he and Rachel hung out on the weekend if the looks Finn kept giving him were any indication.

All he could do was help his dad in the shop, and he definitely wasn't complaining about that because his guitar needed new strings and work on a few songs he would probably never show anyone.

He knew showing up on Kurt's doorstep again was probably pointless and so he just hoped Kurt would be back in school the following Monday.

Monday morning did not start well for Blaine. He overslept and then his hair looked like he had put his finger into a socket and it took ages to tame it. By the time he finally left looking semi presentable, Kurt was probably on the bus already and so Blaine drove straight to school instead of taking a detour to Kurt's neighborhood.

When he arrived in the school parking lot, he scanned the grounds quickly and angrily punched the steering wheel when he spotted Kurt climbing out of the dumpsters, less dirty than he had last time, but visibly shaken.

He crossed the parking lot as fast as he could and caught up with Kurt just as he reached the side door.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Kurt, but I overslept and then I thought you were already on the bus, but I tried to get here as fast as I could but obviously I was too late." Blaine knew he was rambling, but his brain to mouth filter was apparently off this morning.

"God Blaine it's not your job to protect me," Kurt snapped before his shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, it’s just that I had a shitty weekend and I really didn't need this my first day back," Kurt immediately apologized when he saw the hurt look on Blaine's face.

"It's okay," Blaine assured him quickly. "Are you feeling better? I came by your house on Friday and your mom said you were sick."

Kurt tensed for a moment before he smiled at Blaine, one of those fake ones Blaine was slowly learning to distinguish from the few real ones he had seen since he re-met Kurt.

"Stomach bug. Thanks for the homework and the notes. I really appreciated them."

"No problem. I thought you might want them."

Blaine kept close to Kurt for the rest of the day to keep the bullies at bay, but every time he asked Kurt about joining Glee the other boy gave him a vague answer and so Blaine resigned himself to just wait and see. He counted it a success when after lunch Kurt was still in the same clothes he had worn in the morning.

Blaine's last class before Glee let out early and Blaine rushed over to the choir room, keeping his fingers crossed that Kurt would come by. Suddenly he saw Rachel rush to the door pulling an obviously reluctant Kurt into a hug, squealing loudly at the same time.

"Oh my god, you came. I knew I would get through to you eventually."

Blaine and Mr. Schuester, who had come in after Kurt, shared a knowing look but if Rachel needed to believe Kurt coming to Glee had been her doing, Blaine would let her believe it. Kurt obviously could do with a few more friends and Rachel definitely seemed interested in being Kurt's friend considering how long she had been trying to get him into New Directions.

"Hold your horses, man hands," the rude Latina interrupted. "How do we know Lady Anderson can even sing?" Blaine glared in her direction, because what was her problem with Kurt? After all, she kept asking people if they wanted to have a threesome with her and her blonde 'friend'.

"Santana, Kurt already auditioned and I welcomed him to Glee. So please, we are all friends here," Mr. Schuester luckily took over before Blaine could say something he might regret.

"Not that we don't trust you Mr. Schue, but I want to know white boy can sing as well," another girl spoke up, but at least she had a friendly smile on her face when she said it.

Blaine leaned in closer to Kurt, who had fled to the unoccupied chair next to him as soon as Rachel had released him from her hug.

"You think you're ready to do 'Perfect' again?" he asked and Kurt gave him a shy nod. This time their pianist Brad was playing for them and Blaine made sure to look at Kurt throughout the song again, earning them a 'wanky' from Santana when they finished and applause from the rest of the club, who soon tried to swarm Kurt to hug him because he gave them a chance to compete.

Blaine immediately pulled Kurt back to his side when he saw how uncomfortable the other boy looked and gave his teammate a hopefully meaningful look telling them to back off.

"I'm so happy you decided to join," he told Kurt once they were both seated again. "I hope everything went okay at home." Kurt nodded.

"I um, talked to my mom and she said it would be okay as long as my grades didn't suffer."

Blaine couldn't stop himself from beaming at Kurt, because he loved spending time with Kurt already and now that Kurt was in Glee they could spend even more time together and properly rebuild their friendship.

**_Kurt_ **

As much as he had hated how his day had started yet again, he was happy throughout the rest of it. The bruise on his cheek had healed enough for him to cover it with make up and because Blaine was constantly by his side between classes, he hadn't gotten slushied even once.

He could have done without Rachel's enthusiastic hug because he still had bruises on his back, but it was nice to see that someone other than Blaine was actually excited he joined their after school activities.

He had been a tad bit apprehensive about performing in front of the whole group because he had been sure someone would call his voice girly, but to his relief and surprise, everyone, including the football players and cheerleaders, had applauded his performance with Blaine.

He was on cloud nine when Blaine drove him home after school, Blaine easily having bought his there is no bus right now excuse and not even the knowledge that his parents would be home could dampen his spirits.

He needn't have worried about his parents though, because his mom's best friend was over, and the three adults were passing around a joint in the living room. His dad just looked up when he came in and checked his watch, but because he was home on time he just nodded and told Kurt what time dinner had to be ready.

As much as he had feared Blaine coming back into his life, he had to admit that now he had a lot more good days than he had in the past, and he would gladly deal with the bad ones if he could keep Blaine around.

**_Blaine_ **

The rest of the week was good for Blaine and he hoped for Kurt as well. Wanting to keep Kurt from the dumpster tosses, he started picking up Kurt before school every day and drove him home when they had Glee together. After two days Kurt had even stopped with the sarcastic remarks about Blaine's apparent need to constantly be in his neighborhood and had started to accept that Blaine was going to drive him and share his sandwich with him during lunch when Kurt hadn't brought his own, whether he wanted to or not.

It was Thursday now and Blaine thought it was about time to invite Kurt to dinner over at his house again. Friday night dinners had consisted only of his dad and Blaine since the move, and though Blaine had told his dad often that he had no problem with his dad dating again, his dad had never brought anyone home for Friday night dinners, saying they were sacred. He knew how much it meant that his dad kept inviting Kurt, and he was determined to get Kurt over for one.

"And you are sure you can't do this Friday?" he asked Kurt for the third time during Glee rehearsal but like before Kurt shook his head, saying he couldn't. Blaine had learned to read between the lines a bit since the 'I can't join Glee debacle' and so he assumed Kurt meant he wasn't allowed for some reason. Apparently it was time to bring in the bigger guns.

"I don't know, maybe you could ask Kurt's parents if it would be okay?" Blaine asked his dad once he had dropped off Kurt and had driven over to the garage. His dad sighed.

"Do you have a number?" Blaine shook his head.

"I didn't find them in the phonebook."

"Then what do you want me to do?" Blaine knew his dad wanted to help but he also knew he didn't really want to interfere and tell Kurt's parents how to raise their child.

"Maybe we could drive by his house and you could talk to them," Blaine suggested, desperate by now. He was pretty sure Kurt wanted to come over, and only said no because of his parents.

"Fine, but you stay in the car. Let us grown ups handle it." Blaine immediately agreed, waiting impatiently till his dad finally closed up the shop. As promised he stayed in the car while his dad rung Kurt's doorbell and watched as he talked to Kurt's mom.

"And?" he asked anxiously when his dad came back.

"Kurt's coming to dinner tomorrow. I promised you'd pick him up and have him back home by nine. Early curfew for a seventeen year old if you ask me, but what do I know."

Not caring that the gearshift was digging into his stomach, Blaine leaned over and hugged his dad tightly, as always beyond happy he had a dad as amazing as his dad was.

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt had heard the doorbell ring when he had been in the bathroom, but he was still surprised to see his parents glare at him when he put dinner on the table. Had Blaine come by again? Well, fortunately he didn't have to wait long for the answer.

"Burt Hummel came by to invite you over for dinner tomorrow night," his mother told him, still with a frown on her face and Kurt fought to keep his excitement off his. Yes, he was still nervous to meet Blaine's dad again, but he hadn't been over to a friend's house since Blaine had moved away in elementary school.

"And can I go?" he asked aiming for nonchalantly. He knew his parents were big on keeping up appearances and so he hoped he would be allowed to go, just so Blaine's dad wouldn't be suspicious.

"I expect you to be on your best behavior. Don't embarrass us," his dad threatened and Kurt wanted nothing more in that moment to jump up and dance around the living room. Instead he just nodded before adding.

"Thanks, dad."

His parents kept glaring at him through the rest of dinner, but his father didn't raise a hand at him even though he looked like he wanted to because it wouldn't help their case if Kurt showed up at the Hummels' house with bruises on his face.

As soon as he was back in his room after doing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen, he threw himself onto his bed, buried his face into the pillows and squealed like a twelve-year-old girl. It looked like things were finally looking up for Kurt Anderson.

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine was beyond excited when he turned onto Kurt's street. The chicken was in the oven and his dad was instructed to take it out the moment the timer went off. When they had been kids, Kurt's favorite dish had been Chicken Alfredo and he hoped he still liked it, because it was pretty much the only thing he could cook well. He and his dad both had to learn how to cook a bit after his dad's heart attack but they still ordered take out most of time, only now they tried to keep it healthy.

He needn't have worried though because once Kurt got started he ate like Finn had that week he had shared a table with the football team. Blaine discreetly kept pushing his own food onto Kurt's plate when he wasn't looking and was even getting thirds just to make sure Kurt didn't feel bad about eating quite a lot.

He was jumpy around his dad though, flinching when his dad had tried to pull him into a hug and keeping his eyes on his plate, only speaking when asked a direct question. Still, Blaine thought the evening had been successful when he and Kurt ended up watching an old Disney movie for a bit until Blaine had to drive Kurt back home. They weren't sitting as close together as they had as children, but at least Kurt didn't have a problem with sitting on the bed with him to watch the Lion King on Blaine's laptop.

"What did you think?" Blaine asked his dad when he came back from dropping Kurt off back home.

His dad furrowed his brows. "Reminds me of you after Sadie Hawkins," his dad answered and Blaine was proud that he only flinched a bit at the mentioning of the dance.

"I wish I had the money to send you both to Dalton. I know you say everything is fine at McKinley, but I know you wouldn't wear that jacket unless you thought you had to."

Blaine fiddled with the hem of his shirt before he answered. "It's really more for Kurt's protection than my own. As long as I wear the jacket no one dares to do anything to him when I'm close by. And it's awful what they are doing to him. But the worst thing is that the teachers either look the other way or just ignore what's happening and I feel so powerless. All I can do is stay close to him to make sure he doesn't get hurt, but it still doesn't feel like it's enough because I can't be there every second of the day."

He knew as well as his dad did that complaining to the faculty would probably change nothing and so he just accepted his dad's hug and advice to just keep doing what he was already doing because it apparently was more than anyone else was.

"Just make sure he knows he is always welcome here, okay. And if you need me to talk to his parents again, you tell me."

Blaine knew he'd been hugging his dad a lot lately but having Kurt and his problems back in his life made him even more grateful for his dad than he had ever been before.


	10. Chapter 9: Good days...

_**Kurt** _

The following weeks, Kurt caught himself smiling a lot more than usual, and not just fake smiles, real ones. Burt Hummel had issued a standing invitation for him to join them for Friday night dinners and to his surprise his mother had allowed it. He suspected she was afraid of Burt finding out what was going on in their home and was trying to buy his silence by letting him do something that made him happy. It wasn't that his dad had stopped hitting him all of a sudden or that his mom was suddenly nice, but he hadn't missed a single day of school in the last three weeks and it was easier to ignore his mother's insults when Blaine was nice to him throughout the day.

Mr. Schuester had asked him to join the club for their number for Invitationals, but Kurt had declined, telling the coach he wasn't ready. There was no way in hell he'd perform in front of a school that hated him so much, and the less people knew about him being in Glee club, the better.

He was however looking forward to Sectionals, trying to ignore his nerves about having to perform in public. Mostly he sat with Blaine and Rachel, wary of the football players and cheerleaders in the club at first. But apart from a few crude remarks from Santana and some looks from Finn, which he thought were targeted at Blaine, they left him alone, and Kurt gradually managed to relax around them.

Rachel was on a mission again to make him her gay best friend, but he had to admit it was nice to have someone to talk to between classes. The other girls in the group, Mercedes, Tina, Quinn and Brittany, liked to talk to him as well, after they had discovered he knew how to talk about fashion despite the clothes he wore, and had started begging him to take them shopping. Invitations to sleep overs came next. It sucked having to come up with excuses as to why he couldn't, the second being easier than the first, because he just had to tell them he wasn't allowed to have sleepovers with girls.

He hated letting people know, that he didn't have any money. However, he knew it was the only thing that would get him out of going to the mall. So he told them he didn't want to see all the nice clothes, if he could never really afford them, ignoring their looks of pity. When they offered to buy him a few pieces, he also told them there was no way in hell he'd accept their charity. They had backed off after that, but at least they still wanted to talk about clothes with him.

His worries about Blaine had been unfounded as well. Even after their project was finished – earning them an A of course – Blaine insisted they'd keep meeting in the library for lunch. After a few days, Kurt had stopped fighting Blaine about sharing his lunch, though he was sure Blaine was just pretending to hate at least half of the food he 'accidentally' bought. Yes, he didn't want charity and he was embarrassed that Blaine had figured out he didn't have money to buy lunch at school. But he swallowed his pride, because he really liked not having to go home hungry, where he could never be sure if there would be dinner or not.

All in all, things were going surprisingly well. He hadn't had another one on one run in with Karofsky now that either Blaine or Rachel were usually by his side between classes and while the large jock still used every opportunity to shove him into lockers and slushie him when Blaine wasn't around – Rachel really wasn't a match for the bully and mostly got slushied with him – he had at least kept his disgusting lips and hands to himself.

He just hoped the football team wasn't plotting their revenge for the now nearly impossible dumpster tosses, because he caught himself letting his guard down from time to time and he really didn't want to be caught off guard by them again.

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine loved all the time he and Kurt got to spend together. As promised, his dad had driven over to the Andersons again and had invited Kurt to all Friday night dinners, saying he and Blaine could use a familiar face around, because they didn't know many people in Lima yet..

Hearing Kurt talk so passionately about fashion had come as a surprise. He felt a bit guilty about that though, because Kurt not being able to afford nice clothes didn't have to mean he had no taste in them. So, when he let Rachel and her girl friends drag him to the mall where he spotted a gorgeous cardigan he thought would look great on Kurt, he quickly excused himself and ducked into the shop to buy it.

"Can you do me a favor?" he asked Kurt a few days later. "My dad bought me this cardigan that is really not my style nor does it fit properly, but he looked so proud when he gave it to me, I didn't have the heart to tell him I hate it."

"What's the favor? Do you need me to alter it?" Kurt asked and Blaine chuckled.

"It's not that I don't believe in your mad sewing skills, but I doubt that even you could make me like it. No, I thought you might want to take it off my hands if it's something Kurt Anderson would wear," he said as he pulled the 'offending' article from his bag.

Kurt's eyes lit up. "You really don't have taste, do you?" he joked and Blaine pretended to be offended.

"Well, then would you do me the favor and take it?" he tried again. Blaine could see Kurt's internal struggle and waited patiently for him to make a decision. Finally, Kurt shyly reached out for the cardigan, reverently running his fingers over the material.

"Well, if it's to save your dad from possible heartbreak, I suppose I have to take it," he said then, probably to cover any embarrassment over accepting the gift, but Blaine just gave him a big smile. "Awesome. My dad's heart thanks you."

He watched Kurt walk away and as he put the cardigan in the back of his locker, Blaine felt rather accomplished. He couldn't wait to see Kurt in it. Kurt didn't disappoint and slipped into the cardigan after Blaine had dropped him off at his locker the next morning. Blaine's breath got caught in his throat, because he had been right, Kurt did look amazing in it. Kurt never wore his cardigan in the mornings when Blaine picked him up or when he drove him home after school, but Blaine assumed he didn't want his parents to know because of his pride and the not wanting to accept charity thing. Well, it wasn't charity for Blaine. All he wanted was to make Kurt happy, and if a piece of clothing could do that, he would gladly buy the mall for him if he could afford it. And as long as Kurt proudly wore his gift at school and Blaine kept it from getting ruined by slushies he was happy as well.

**_Kurt_ **

Friday night found Kurt at the Hummels for dinner again. He had volunteered to cook, once he had realized that neither of the Hummel men knew their way around the kitchen. He and Blaine had spent the afternoon at the grocery store, acting like little kids, racing their carts while trying to find healthy ingredients for dinner.

He was also proud that this time he hadn't even flinched when Burt had hugged him hello. While Blaine's dad was watching some car show in the living room, he and Blaine were chopping vegetables next to each other in the small but homey kitchen in companionable silence. During dinner, Burt entertained them with stories about incredibly stupid costumers. Machos who thought they knew everything better, but actually made things worse and bored housewives who brought their cars in just so they had someone to talk. Kurt found himself laughing out loud at some of them. Luckily, no one ever asked too many invasive questions about his parents, apart from the obligatory how are they doing, and what are they up to now? Sometimes he felt like Burt was watching him closely with an unreadable expression on his face, but Kurt brushed it off, because he wanted to enjoy his time at the Hummels.

"Ready to commence operation teach Kurt Anderson all about musicals?" Blaine asked after dinner, Burt having offered to do the dishes as a thank you for Kurt making dinner – and wasn't it interesting how other people handled things like this at their houses. Kurt nodded and followed Blaine upstairs to his bedroom, which was covered in posters of Kate Perry, Pink and some other musicians Kurt didn't know.

Blaine's choice of the night was 'Singing in the Rain' and Kurt settled on Blaine's bed making sure to keep an appropriate distance between them as Blaine put the DVD into his laptop and put it in front of them.

His eyelids starting dropping before the main characters had even finished their first big number, and at some point he must have fallen asleep because the next time he opened his eyes, the DVD menu was on the screen of Blaine's laptop. He internally freaked out when he realized his head was on Blaine's shoulder and he had even drooled on him a bit. They were sitting together way too closely and somehow their hands had ended up entwined between them.

To his relief, Blaine appeared to be asleep as well and Kurt carefully extricated his hand from Blaine's and wiped Blaine's shoulder with his sleeve before his eyes fell on Blaine's alarm clock on his bedside table. Kurt froze, before he started to shake Blaine awake.

"Blaine, it's after ten. You need to drive me home, now!" Kurt kept shaking Blaine, until he blinked sleepily. "You're comfy. Stay over," Blaine mumbled before he blushed and sat up. "I mean, why don't you call your parents and ask if you can sleep over? We have a guest room/ office that never gets used," he suggested but unfortunately Kurt had to say no, because he really shouldn't push his luck with his parents.

Blaine was grumbling to himself, slowly getting off the bed, but Kurt couldn't stop to obsess over Blaine's adorable behavior, too anxious because he was supposed to be home more than an hour ago and he wanted to go to school on Monday.

Blaine must have sensed his inner panic, because he drove ten miles over the speed limit. "We missed most of the movie," Kurt remarked, breathing out a sigh of relief when he saw his house was still dark when Blaine parked in front of it. Hopefully his parents were getting wasted at a local bar and no one would tell them Kurt came home late.

"There's always next Friday," Blaine smiled at him and Kurt's heart skipped a beat. Too bad he and Blaine never would be more than friends, but just having someone to spend Friday nights with, was more than he had ever expected to have while he was still in Lima.

**_Blaine_ **

Luckily the football team won their first game, Blaine managing to contribute to their win as well with one of his kicks. Sam, Puck and Mike pulled him into a bone-crushing hug afterward and even quarterback Finn deigned to congratulate him. The atmosphere in the locker room was still tense however, Karofsky glaring at everyone who dared to congratulate Blaine. "What's your problem?" Blaine finally snapped. "You said you'd leave me alone if I helped you win and I did."

"I want you to stay the hell away from Anderson," Karofsky growled and Blaine didn't like how possessive the big linebacker sounded. If he didn't know any better, he would think Karofsky had a crush on Kurt. Wouldn't that be just great, if the most homophobic guy in school was a closet case, Blaine thought darkly.

"Seriously, Karofsky. Back off!" Puck interrupted.

"What the little homo converted you too now?" Karofsky sneered and Sam and Mike moved to stand next to Puck. "He's part of Glee now, and I for one would like to win a competition this year. So leave him alone," Puck repeated.

Blaine had never been more glad he had managed to convince Kurt to join Glee club than he was now.

"Have you all gone crazy?" Karofsky yelled. "We put people like Anderson in their place not invite them to join us. It's been too long already with Hummel being Anderson's bitch, so I say we teach the little fag a lesson he won't soon forget. Who's with me?" Karofsky looked around the looker room expectantly, but to Blaine's relief most of his teammates shuffled their feet awkwardly.

"Dude, Anderson isn't worth getting thrown off the team over. We already put him in his place daily, so I don't think we should risk doing something more drastic," a big wide receiver piped up.

"And as long as Hummel keeps his eyes to himself and helps us win, who cares who he hangs out with," another student joined the argument, one that always looked a bit uncomfortable when Karofsky started with the gay slurs.

"Fine," Karofsky spat, " more for me then." Now Blaine really didn't like the look on Karofsky's face. He'd have to make sure Karofsky never got anywhere near Kurt when he was on his own.

"Thanks for your help in there," he told Puck as they left the locker room, Blaine not being in the mood to join the football team for a celebration party and Puck having a 'hot date'.

"No problem, dude. I told you I have no problem with you screwing who you want. The Puckzilla knows a man got needs." Blaine decided not to ask who Puckzilla was. "And Anderson's not too bad. Boy got pipes and I like his snark. Calling Lopez out on her bitchy behavior was priceless." Blaine chuckled as well. It had been great seeing Kurt come out of his shell and Santana had definitely not expected Kurt to talk back when she had made an offensive comment about his clothes. Her reaction to him telling her she should ask if she could keep her cheerleading uniform for her future as a pole dancer had been priceless.

"Well, see you Monday dude. Don't leave the ladies waiting, but always leave them waiting for more," he shared his sage advice with Blaine before strutting off and Blaine rolled his eyes, before hurrying out to his car as well, before one of the angrier members of the team could catch up with him. Because he knew that meeting an angry Karofsky in a deserted hallway would not turn out well for him.

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt left the guidance counselor's office with a spring in his step. Ms. Pillsbury had asked him to stop by to talk about his plans for after graduation to see if he shared the other glee members aspirations and when he told her that yes, he did want to perform in the future, she had given him brochures about the different performing arts colleges and their requirements. He knew he wouldn't be able to do anything like theater to better his future application but joining Glee was a step in the right direction and with his grades Ms. Pillsbury had thought he would have a chance to get into a good school and even get a scholarship.

He dodged Karofsky on his way to the choir room, briefly hiding out in an empty classroom until the jock had passed by, clearly confused by Kurt's sudden disappearance. Glee made his day even better, as Mr. Schuester announced their first number for the competition. Kurt could barely stay in his seat when the teacher announced that he, Blaine, Rachel, Santana and Mercedes would do a number together, and he was beyond grateful for Blaine showing him all those musicals when Mr. Schuester told them the number.

Rachel and Blaine would start them off on 'You can't stop the beat' – and boy did Finn look pissed during this announcement - and Kurt and Santana would take over from them, with Mercedes finishing them off. Mike and Brittany would add a dance number and the rest of the club would join in on the chorus.

"Are you excited?" Blaine leaned in to ask and Kurt had to suppress a shudder, a constant reaction now whenever Blaine got too close. He really had to get a grip on himself, because this whole unrequited crush thing was getting ridiculous.

"No," Kurt told him. "Before, I would have been scared to sing with Santana, but I think I actually earned her respect when I told her off."

Before he could add anything, Mr. Schuester interrupted them by passing around a piece of paper.

"Sectionals will be held at a school a town over, so please let your parents sign the permission slips for the bus ride there," he explained and Kurt's stomach lurched. Not even Blaine was aware that Kurt didn't have permission to be in Glee and now he was supposed to produce a signed permission slip?

He stuffed the paper into the bag, hoping Mr. Schuester would just forget about it. He was also hoping that as a sort of soloist, Mr. Schuester would have to let him perform, signature or not, if he didn't want to change their entire routine hours before the competition.

Following the out of sight out of mind philosophy, he threw himself into rehearsals and told Mr. Schuester his parents were away on business at the moment but he would get back to him as soon as they were back.

They had also agreed on Tina, Brittany, Quinn and Artie singing 'True Colors' and Puck, Mike, Finn and Sam doing 'It's my life' and Kurt couldn't wait for Sectionals to happen.

A week before Sectionals he was humming the lyrics to his song as he watched Blaine drive away and walked up to the front door. He stopped immediately when he opened the door, and walked into the living room where his father was sitting, cell phone in front of him.

"I just got off the phone with a Mr. Schuester. Want to tell me what that is all about?"


	11. Chapter 10: ... and bad days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: suicidal thougths

_**Kurt** _

"I didn't lie to you," Kurt quickly protested before his father's fist could connect with his jaw and his dad paused briefly. "Glee meets during lunch so it won't conflict with the schedules of the football players and cheerleaders," Kurt lied again, because what else was there to do?

"You can call Mr. Schuester and ask him about it." He prayed to a god that he didn't believe in that his dad didn't suddenly decide he wanted to get involved with any of Kurt's teachers. "And you never told me I wasn't allowed to have extra curriculars. They look good on college applications. You just told me I had to come home after school and I do that every day."

"Fine," his dad growled "but you quit that sissy club first thing Monday morning. No son of mine will prance around on a stage. You're pretty much a girl already; don't need to add that as well. You are disappointment enough as it is."

Before his dad could change his mind and hit him anyway, Kurt quickly fled to his room and threw himself face first on the bed. Tears ran down his face when he angrily grabbed one of his books and threw it against the wall.

Why couldn't he just have something good happen in life without it getting taken away soon after? Was it too much to ask that he got to be happy as well? What had he ever done to deserve all that? He hated his life, hated his parents and hated Blaine for showing him what happiness could feel like.

He wanted to kick and scream and punch a hole in the wall, but what would it change in the end? Nothing. Things were never going to change for the better and maybe it was time to accept that instead of dreaming of a fantasy future that would never happen. As much as he hoped that his life would improve as soon as he graduated high school, it was just not realistic. Without extra curriculars he would have a hard time getting into a good college and without any money of his own, he would not be able to go anywhere other than the Lima community college without a scholarship.

And who outside of Glee club would be interested in hearing him sing? They lived in Ohio after all, and people like him, too girly to be taken seriously, had no place there. It was days like this when he just wanted to die, so he would never have to be in pain or heart broken again. So he wouldn't have to see what a failure he would turn out to be. But he was even too much of a coward for that. And maybe, subconsciously, he still wanted to see what could happen, because it had to get better at some point, right? Because otherwise, what would be the point of living? He didn't just want to become part of a statistic, he wanted to be visible. He wanted people to give a crap. He wanted teachers who cared and made sure he could go to school without having to fear assault and most of all he wanted a home, he wanted to come home to. He wanted what Blaine had. He wanted the supportive father and the acceptance at school.

He threw himself back on the bed, sobbing hysterically. He knew he must look like a mess and the worst thing was that Blaine would pick him up soon. The last thing he wanted right now was spend the evening at Blaine's house, pretending everything was alright, when his world came crumbling down again. But he knew that if he just cancelled at the last minute, Blaine would want to know why and Kurt didn't have a good excuse other than the truth. And Blaine would find out about him quitting Glee soon enough, because he had to do it first thing Monday morning. He would just have to avoid Blaine afterward, because he was sure Blaine wouldn't let it go until he got his answers.

A glance at the clock on the wall told him he only had twenty minutes left before Blaine would pick him up so they could go grocery shopping again. He went into his small bathroom and splashed water on his face, trying to get his emotions under control because Blaine couldn't know he'd been crying. Wiping the water off his face, he put on his biggest show smile, hoping he was more convincing that he felt.

Because the show had to go on.

**_Blaine_ **

Something was wrong with Kurt. It was like he had done a one-eighty since Blaine had dropped him off after school and Blaine wanted to know what had happened to make Kurt sad, because the smile on his face wasn't fooling anyone.

He tried to cheer him up by doing even more ridiculous things at the grocery store, but Kurt's heart didn't seem to be in it and as soon as he thought Blaine wasn't looking, his smile disappeared. He looked like the boy he had met his first week at school all over again.

"You okay?" he finally asked when they were driving over to his house. Kurt nodded. "You know you can talk to me, right? About anything," Blaine tried again.

"I'm okay. Just tired. I didn't sleep too well last night and it seems to be catching up with me now. I'm sorry I'm not better company," Kurt excused himself, but Blaine shook his head.

"Hey, you are never bad company, okay. But if you're tired, why don't we order in tonight. You really don't have to cook for us every Friday night."

In the end, that was exactly what they did. They ate Chinese food in the living room while an old movie was on, and Blaine helped Kurt use his chopsticks. He and his dad shared worried glances, while Kurt picked at his food. This alone made alarm bells go off, because usually Kurt ate like a typical teenage boy, and he also didn't say anything when Blaine accidentally put a movie on they had already seen.

Kurt managed to stay awake during 'Rent', but Blaine saw he was in his own world and was barely paying attention to what was happening on the screen. He wished Kurt would just tell him what was troubling him, because he hated seeing Kurt like that. He didn't even cry when Angel died, and how could someone not.

The drive back to Kurt's house was silent, Kurt still refusing to open up to Blaine, and so Blaine just reminded him what time he would pick him up Monday morning.

"I'm really worried, Dad," he told Burt when he returned. "He looked happy when I drove him home after school, and three hours later it was like he was a completely different person."

Blaine sat down next to his dad and let himself be hugged.

"I'm worried too. Is everything okay at home, did he say something?" Blaine shook his head.

"He never talks much about his home. I just know that his parents are really strict and I don't think his mom likes me a lot, but that's it."

His dad looked pensive but didn't share his thoughts. Maybe Kurt had gotten into a fight with his parents about something? Whatever it was, he hoped it wasn't something too serious and that Kurt would feel better when they saw each other again Monday morning.

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt snuck out of the house an hour earlier than usual on Monday morning to avoid Blaine. It wasn't the most mature thing to do, but in this case it seemed like the easy way out.

The school doors were still locked when Kurt arrived and he waited patiently until a janitor unlocked the front door. He walked over to Mr. Schuester's office, hoping the choir teacher wouldn't be too mad with him when Kurt told him he couldn't be part of the group anymore.

"If it's nerves, Kurt, I can assure you everyone gets nervous before they go on stage, but you'll be fine. Just focus on the performance and ignore the audience," Mr. Schuester told him half an hour later after Kurt had told him he had to quit Glee.

"It's not that, Mr. Schuester. It's just that my dad and I had a deal. He said I could join Glee if I got on the football team, but that's never going to happen for obvious reasons and so after you called he told me I had to quit because I wasn't on the team," Kurt decided to go with a half truth so Mr. Schuester would stop trying to convince him to change his mind.

"Maybe I could talk to your father again," Mr. Schuester offered and Kurt frantically shook his head.

"No. He doesn't like other people telling him what to do," he mumbled. "And I'm really sorry for letting you down like this just before the competition." He was not going to cry now, Kurt told himself as he felt tears well up in his eyes.

"Hey, it's okay. Last year we had to change our set list half an hour before we went on stage because ours got stolen. We'll make it work if we have to. But maybe you can ask your dad if you can at least do the performance with us. If he likes football so much, he might understand that quitting right now would let down the whole team."

Kurt nodded, though he knew his dad couldn't care less about a Glee competition. "Please let the others know I'm sorry and could you please tell them it's personal if they ask?" he asked the teacher before he left his office. Mr. Schuester nodded and Kurt ducked out into the hallway.

Phase one of make his life miserable again was complete, now he just had to avoid Blaine at all costs.

**_Blaine_ **

Kurt wasn't in front of the house when Blaine pulled up like he usually was and when he finally rang the bell after waiting for fifteen minutes, Kurt's mother told him grumpily that Kurt had already left for school. He didn't know what to make of that, so he wanted to ask Kurt when he saw him at school.

Unfortunately, on Mondays, they didn't share a lot of their classes either, and though he thought he spotted Kurt's shaggy brown hair walking down a hallway on his way to homeroom, Kurt kept walking when he called his name.

He didn't manage to catch him between his next two classes either, and when he walked into the French classroom, Kurt wasn't there. Like he had done the first week of school, Kurt came in just as the second bell rang and he kept his eyes on his book throughout the lesson, ignoring the piece of paper, Blaine had discreetly dropped on his table. Before he could react, Kurt had fled the classroom after the bell had rung and by the time Blaine started moving as well, Kurt was gone.

When lunch break came around, Blaine headed to the library, hoping to finally talk to Kurt but the other boy wasn't there and a quick trip to the bleachers didn't produce Kurt either. Blaine was at a loss at what to do. Kurt was definitely avoiding him, but Blaine didn't understand why. Had something else happened over the weekend that made Kurt stay away from him? He just hoped Karofsky hadn't managed to get to him somehow.

He got his answer when he went to Glee after school, where Mr. Schuester informed them that Kurt had quit. The group erupted with questions and curses, but all their teacher told them was that it was personal and that Kurt might still join them for Sectionals, otherwise Artie would take over Kurt's part in the song. Blaine dodged Rachel's questions because he had no clue what was going on either, and he left the choir room as soon as practice was over to drive to Kurt's house. The driveway was empty when he got there and Blaine got out of the car and started ringing the bell every few seconds. He started knocking on the door next.

"Kurt, I know you're home. Come on, we need to talk about this," he yelled, ignoring the neighbor that glared at him. "Please, Kurt. Did I do something or did something happen?" he tried again, but nothing happened.

When it became clear that Kurt really wasn't going to talk to him, he walked back to his car, shoulders slumped.

The next morning was a repeat of the previous one. Even though he got to Kurt's house early, Kurt was already gone and the parking lot was empty as well when he got there.

"You look like you need some help cooling off, fag!" he suddenly heard Karofsky yell when he was on his way to homeroom and Blaine sped up. By the time he rounded the corner though, Kurt had already disappeared into a girls' bathroom, Blaine only catching the back of his head before the door closed.

He knew this might be the only chance he would get to talk to Kurt, so he followed him into the bathroom.

The moment he was inside and spotted Kurt he froze in shock. Kurt had pulled off his t-shirt and was trying to get the slushie out of his hair with it, but Blaine's eyes were glued to Kurt's back, which was littered with bruises. Some looked old and were already fading, but some looked brand new.

He gasped and brought his hand to his mouth because just looking at the rainbow of colors on Kurt's back made him sick to his stomach. Kurt whirled around, the moment Blaine made a noise and froze as well. Unfortunately, Kurt's chest didn't look much better. There were bruises and scars as well, and he could count every rip on Kurt's body, his stomach curved in. Blaine didn't even want to know what Kurt had looked like before he started to make sure Kurt had lunch every day.

"Kurt," he choked out, taking a step toward the other boy who immediately stepped back. "What happened? How, what…?"

Kurt looked like a frightened animal backed into a corner. "It's nothing," he whispered and Blaine felt tears trickle down his face, because how could Kurt be so cavalier about this? "Just some members of the football team not liking that the school freak joined the freak club and hangs out with other members of the football team."

"Is that why you quit Glee?" Blaine asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach. Had Karofsky done this to Kurt because Blaine was hanging out with him? Or was it after Puck had accidentally told his teammates Kurt was in Glee?

Kurt nodded and Blaine couldn't stop himself anymore. He took another step forward and pulled Kurt into his arms. The other boy resisted at first before sinking into Blaine's embrace, shaking in his arms, though Blaine wasn't sure if it was from being cold or something else.

"I promise to protect you from them, but you need to let me help. I can walk you to every class and I'm sure Puck, Mike or Sam would help too. I'll make sure he never touches you again or any other guy on the team. Please, Kurt, you need to let me help you," he begged Kurt as tears ran down his face.

Kurt nodded weakly. "Okay," he whispered. And Blaine hugged him tighter, still careful though not to put pressure on Kurt's injuries.

"Does that mean, you'll come back to Glee? You can't let them dictate what you do or don't. Please, don't let them take something away from you I know you love. We'll make sure they'll leave you alone. I promise," Blaine told him again, waiting with baited breath for Kurt's answer.

Finally, Kurt gave him a nearly imperceptible nod.

"Okay, come on, let's get you cleaned up." Blaine helped Kurt pull a fresh t-shirt over his head and carefully wiped the remaining slushie from his tear-streaked cheeks, before wiping off the slushie that had ended up on his own clothes.

He knew they were both missing their first classes, but he couldn't care in that moment. He'd talk to the teachers and make them understand. Once they were both cleaned up, he sat down on the floor and pulled Kurt down with him, holding the still shaking boy until the bell rang and students were flooding the hallways again.

He dropped Kurt off at his next class, reminding him to wait for him there, before walking off in search of Puck, Sam and Mike.

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt approached Mr. Schuester with shaking hands before handing him the signed permission slip. He had done his best to believably fake his father's signature and hoped that Mr. Schuester wouldn't be able to tell.

The choir teacher's face lit up. "You were right, my dad didn't want me to let down the team and said I could do the competition. I'm not sure yet if I can come back to Glee but he said we'd talk about it again after Sectionals," Kurt told him, hoping his voice wouldn't give him away.

Mr. Schuester just smiled at him though. "Glad to have you back, Kurt. I'll see you in Glee tomorrow."

Kurt was a nervous wreck the next few days, avoiding his parents as much as possible so they wouldn't find out what he had done. Friday night dinner at Blaine's got cancelled because of the competition the next morning and Blaine had offered to pick him up Saturday morning to drive him to school. There was only one problem left. How was he going to get out of the house for a few hours on Saturday without his parents noticing? They usually slept in after going out, but he couldn't risk them waking up and finding out he wasn't home.

Because he didn't have a driver's license he couldn't offer to go grocery shopping for them either, so there was only one thing to do. Lie more and hope not to get caught.

"Dad?", Kurt approached his father cautiously when he came home from school Friday afternoon.

"What?" his dad grunted, clearly not liking that Kurt disturbed him during a game.

"There's this boy helping out at Mr. Hummel's shop on Saturdays for a few hours and he broke his leg," Kurt began and when his dad glared at him Kurt quickly continued. "Mr. Hummel asked me to help out because he couldn't find anyone else on such a short notice. I wanted to know if I could do it, because I'd like to help as a thank you for having me over for dinner so much."

He knew his dad would rather say yes if he thought they were sort of obligated and he hoped it would work out. "You can call Mr. Hummel if you want to ask him about it," Kurt added because he knew his parents liked Blaine's dad about as much as Burt liked his parents.

"Don't know why he thinks you could be of any use, but fine. It's probably about time that you got off your lazy ass and earned your keep," he spat and Kurt felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders.

"Thank you, dad. Can I use your phone so I can tell him I can come over tomorrow?" Kurt asked hoping it wasn't too much to ask that. His dad threw his phone at him, and Kurt caught it before it could hit him in the head. He quickly dialed the Hummels number, hoping it would be Burt that picked up. Apparently luck was on his side for once because Burt did pick up the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Hummel, this is Kurt. Can you let Blaine know that picking me up at nine is okay," he quickly said, glancing at his dad, who fortunately was engrossed in his football game. "Thanks, goodbye."

He carefully handed the phone back to his father, and rushed downstairs before his dad could change his mind.

Kurt barely slept the night before Sectionals and he was sure he looked like a zombie when Blaine picked him up, but luckily the other boy didn't comment and they drove to school in silence, Blaine having given up on having a conversation with him, after Kurt had ignored his first few attempts. His stomach was in knots and he hoped he wouldn't throw up as soon as he got onto the stage.

**_Blaine_ **

Kurt looked incredibly pale when they were waiting behind the curtains even under his stage make up, and Blaine suspected a bad case of stage freight. He lightly squeezed Kurt's shoulder afraid to hurt him now that he knew what he was hiding under his shirt.

"You are going to be amazing out there, okay. I believe in you, and when the judges will hear you sing, they won't have another chance but declare us the winners," he tried to assure Kurt. He was feeling pretty good about the performance especially now that he knew the Warblers weren't their competition for Sectionals and he just needed Kurt to believe in himself.

As predicted, Kurt was amazing. As soon as the curtains rose it was as if he had transformed into a completely different person. There was a real smile on his face and he looked more confident than he had ever seen Kurt before.

He was glad he had sung his solo before Kurt started to sing because with how busy he was staring at Kurt, he might have missed his cue had he sung with him.

The other two performances went well as well and Blaine pulled Kurt into his arms again as soon as they were off the stage. "Blaine," he heard his father call out and Blaine told Kurt he would be right back.

"You were amazing, son," his dad told him when he released him from his hug. "Come on, I need to congratulate Kurt as well." Both Hummel men turned to see a vaguely familiar man take Kurt's arm and yank him away from the crowd. There was fear in Kurt's eyes and Blaine could feel his dad tense next to him.

"We need to go, Blaine. Now"! Burt yelled and started running in the direction the man had taken Kurt. Blaine remained frozen on the spot for another few seconds that felt like hours, because suddenly all the puzzle pieces were starting to fit together. He paled, before running after his dad, praying that they wouldn't be too late and would be able to stop Kurt's dad before he could hurt Kurt even more.


	12. Chapter 11: The Ugly Truth

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine ran after his dad, hoping to catch up with Kurt and Mr. Anderson, before they could leave the building. But he needn't have worried about that. Kurt was still in the building, but they were too late nevertheless.

"You lying piece of shit!" Mr. Anderson's voice rang out in the empty hallway and Blaine froze again when he saw Kurt go down in the distance. "Get up and behave like a man for once." A kick to Kurt's ribs and stomach finally propelled Blaine to move forward again.

"Stop it!" he yelled and Mr. Anderson looked up for a moment. It was all the distraction Blaine needed as he tried to tackle Mr. Anderson. The man wasn't much taller than Blaine, but he apparently was quite strong because next thing he knew he was stumbling back clutching his eye. His dad pushed Mr. Anderson away from Kurt, who was still curled up on the floor and made no move to get up. Blaine feared that his injuries were worse than they looked from the outside.

Suddenly, Blaine heard footsteps coming down the hallway and he was soon faced with the rest of the Glee club, worry evident on their faces as they watched his dad struggle to contain Mr. Anderson. Puck ran forward and grabbed the arm with which Kurt's dad was trying to hit his dad and Blaine sank to the floor and gently pulled Kurt's head in his lap.

Kurt's left side was bloody; blood still trickling out of a deep cup on his temple and Blaine pressed his shirtsleeve to the wound to stop the bleeding. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

"So sorry," Kurt slurred, his face paler than Blaine had ever seen it before.

"Sh, don't be. We can talk later. I just want to make sure you're doing okay right now." Blaine stroked Kurt's other cheek while his right hand was still pressed against the wound on Kurt's temple.

"Are you planning to just stand there and stare the whole day or could you do something useful and call 911," his dad suddenly yelled at Mr. Schuester who was staring at the scene in shock but had made no move to do anything.

Puck, Sam and his dad had subdued Mr. Anderson by now, but he was still screaming hateful slurs about his son that made Blaine want to get up and punch his face to shut him up.

"Right," Mr. Schuster stuttered before pulling out his cellphone and dialing 911.

"Let's get this guy away from Kurt," Blaine's dad instructed next and he and the boys pulled the struggling man into an empty classroom.

Rachel dropped down by his side as soon as Kurt's dad was gone and grabbed Kurt's hand as tears were streaming down her face.

"Please be okay," she whispered and Blaine was grateful she cared so much as well.

"Kurt," a familiar voice suddenly cried out and Blaine turned to glare at Kurt's mom who was standing next to a woman he didn't know. He felt Kurt tense in his lap and shook his head in Mr. Schuster's direction, hoping the teacher would catch his drift. Mr. Schuester apparently really wasn't the brightest tool in the shed because he just looked confused, but Mercedes stepped in.

"You must be Mrs. Anderson. We have everything under control and the police should be here any minute. I'm sure they'll want to talk to you, so it's good you managed to find us." Kurt's mom paled and mumbled something about needing water before making a hasty retreat. The woman who had been with her suddenly started crying however.

"Oh my god. Had I known he would do something like that I would have never told Paul and Sally about the competition," she sobbed and Blaine turned his glare on her though the woman hadn't hurt Kurt in person.

"It's not your fault, Mrs. Puckerman," Mr. Schuester tried to comfort the woman. "I mean when Kurt quit the club he said it was because his dad didn't want him to be in Glee and he didn't want me to talk to his father, but I never would have expected things to be this bad at home. If students don't talk to us how are we supposed to help them?"

Blaine couldn't believe Mr. Schuester, who like all the other teachers at school had turned a blind eye to the bullying, and had said there was nothing he could do, when Blaine had told him about the slushies his Glee club had to deal with.

"Can't breathe," Kurt suddenly forced out in his lap and Blaine focused his attention back to Kurt, trying not to let his panic show. He pulled Kurt further into his arms, hoping a change of position would help Kurt, but it only caused Kurt to cry out in pain. Blaine was at a loss as to what to do, and he was beyond grateful for the EMTs timing.

"Please, help. He can't breathe," he cried out before being pushed aside by the paramedics. An oxygen mask was put over Kurt's face and Blaine watched as a bit of color returned to his face.

"Suspected pneumothorax. We need to get him to the hospital immediately for a chest x-ray," the female EMT added when she was met with puzzled expressions.

Blaine jumped up, intent on staying with Kurt for as long as possible, but was momentarily distracted by shouts coming from behind him. A profanities yelling Mr. Anderson was led down the hallway by two police officers, hands cuffed behind his back, while his own dad was walking with the police officers, apparently filling them in on what was going on.

When he saw that the EMTs had started moving Kurt down the hall, he quickly ran to catch up with them and was glad his black eye secured him a spot in the ambulance with Kurt. As soon as Kurt was placed in the ambulance, a needle was placed in the back of his hand and connected to a bag of unfamiliar liquid.

Kurt's eyes were unfocused when Blaine tried to comfort him, telling him everything would be okay now that he was safe, and he briefly panicked when the other boy's eyes suddenly closed and he looked to the female EMT riding in the back with them, who assured him the pain meds flowing through the drip had knocked him out and that Kurt was in good hands.

They reached the hospital fairly quickly, but Blaine was stopped once they rushed into the emergency room, a nurse pulling him aside to ask him all kinds of questions about Kurt, Blaine didn't know the answers to. At least his fear for Kurt distracted him from the fact that he hated hospitals, but he still protested when a nurse tried to lead him away to look at his eye. He flung himself into his dad's arms the moment he ran into the ER, followed more slowly by two police officers.

"What's going on?" he asked and Blaine shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know, they wouldn't let me come with him. Something about his lungs."

His dad told him to sit back down while he went looking for a doctor or nurse to tell them more, but they still had to sit for nearly an hour before someone finally came to talk to them, and only after being told, that Kurt's mom was currently being questioned by the police and that the Hummels were the closest to a family Kurt had at the moment.

Blaine had been questioned by one of the officers as well while they waited and he told them everything he knew about Kurt and his parents, hating himself for not figuring out what was going on sooner. He was also sad that Kurt hadn't felt like he could trust Blaine enough to tell him, so Blaine could help him, but they could talk about that later, when Kurt was feeling better.

Finally, a young doctor approached them.

"Family of Kurt Anderson?" he asked and Blaine and his dad nodded.

"We were afraid a broken rib might have punctured his lung and caused him to have trouble breathing. Fortunately the chest x-ray showed that all though one of his ribs is broken it only put pressure on his lungs when he tried to sit up and it didn't collapse after all. We have set and wrapped his injuries and he should wake up soon. We have him on pain medication and we are keeping him over night for observation, but if there are no complications we'll be able to release him tomorrow afternoon."

Blaine sank back down in his chair relieved that Kurt's injuries weren't worse than they had thought.

"Can I see him?" he asked and the doctor nodded.

"You go, kiddo. Your friends are on their way as well and someone should be here to fill them in when they get here."

Blaine nodded, before following the doctor down the hallway to Kurt's room. There were three beds in the room, two empty right now though, and Blaine's eyes travelled over to the bed next to the window.

The wound on Kurt's temple had been stitched and he was wearing one of those awful hospital gowns that made him look even smaller than he was. Blaine pulled a chair over to Kurt's bedside and gently took his hand into his own, hoping Kurt would wake up soon.

After what felt like hours, Kurt's eyes finally opened slowly, and he blinked a few times before his eyes settled on Blaine. "Did we win?" he whispered.

A weight was lifted off Blaine's shoulders when Kurt finally spoke. "That's not important right now." He had no idea who had won the competition, not even sure the club had stayed long enough to hear the results.

Kurt just blinked before he repeated the question and somehow Blaine knew Kurt wasn't just talking about the competition. "Yes, we did," he whispered, his thumb stroking over the back of Kurt's hand.

There was a lot they had to talk about, so many questions Blaine needed answered, but before he could ask any of them, the doctor, followed by the police officer that had questioned him, entered the room and told him the police needed to talk to Kurt in private.

Resolved not to give up this time, he told Kurt he would be back as soon as the police was done, before leaving the room and sinking down on the floor outside of Kurt's room. He didn't stay seated long though, soon pacing the hallway his mind coming up with even more questions he didn't have the answers to.

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt was relieved when the police officer came to talk to him, because as much as it had made him happy that Blaine had apparently never left his side in all this, he also didn't know what to tell him, now that he was semi lucid again. He couldn't believe the whole Glee club had seen him so defenceless, lying on the floor without being able to protect himself. He had never wanted anyone to see him like this, helpless, weak and now not only Blaine had seen him, a whole group of people he was slowly starting to consider friends had as well.

What if Blaine was angry with him for lying to him the whole time? Or what if he hated him for the black eye he had gotten trying to defend Kurt. No, having to tell a stranger his sob story was not a pleasant thought, but it at least gave him time to think about what he wanted to say to Blaine.

"Kurt, I'm officer Hanson. Is it okay if I ask you a few question?" Kurt nodded, because he knew there was no getting out of this. Too many people had witnessed his father's reaction to finding out about the Glee competition. God, had he known his parents knew Puck's mom, he would have never dared to lie to his dad and go behind his back, but what was done was done, and maybe, just maybe it wasn't so bad that his dirty little secret was finally revealed.

"Can you tell me about what happened at your music competition?" Kurt sighed..

"My dad, he told me to quit the club last week when he found out about it, but when I friend of mine saw some bruises on my back, I told him they were from bullies at my school who didn't like that I was doing show choir – and some of them were – and he promised to protect me from them, so I could come back to the club. I knew he wouldn't give up as long as he thought that was the reason, so I faked my dad's signature and made up a reason why I couldn't be home today. Apparently my parents ran into the mother of someone from the club who told them about the competition. We had just finished our set list, and Blaine, he's my friend, went over to say hello to his dad. Suddenly my dad was there and he grabbed me and pulled me into the hallway, where he…" he finished with a awkward gesture not wanting to have to spell it out.

The cop handed him a class of water and a tissue and only then did he realize that he was crying.

"And was that the first time your father reacted violently to you doing something he didn't approve of. Your x-rays showed an array of old injuries and I need to know if you got them at home?" Kurt knew this was it. He could say it was the first time his dad had acted like this and that all his other injuries came from school or he could finally tell the truth.

He took a deep breath, as deep as his aching ribs allowed before he whispered. "They're from my dad. At least most of them."

He had expected to feel lighter the moment he finally told the truth, but fear was still cursing through his veins, because what would happen to him now?

"And your mother, has she ever hit you as well?" Kurt shook his head. His mother was better with words and had always left the handy work to his father."But she knew what was going on?"

"I think she was afraid of him too," Kurt whispered though he had no idea what made him say that. Maybe it was just the hope that things at home would be better if his father was removed from the equation. If it were just the two of them. And then there was also the fact that he was still afraid to end up in the system. He'd rather deal with his mother's harsh words than with more physical abuse or even worse.

The police officer nodded and kept writing down what Kurt was saying. "How long has this been going on?" she asked then and Kurt froze, because surely the cop would think he was a weak idiot for hiding something like this for so long. The officer must have sensed his hesitation, because she moved her chair closer to his bed then.

"It's okay that you were afraid to talk about this. Many victims of abuse stay silent for a long time, because they are afraid of what others may think, or because they think telling the truth might make things worse."

Kurt swallowed hard. "Since I was about six," he finally whispered. "My dad didn't like that I wanted to play dress up with some girls from pre-school."

The officer nodded. "And no one has ever suspected anything? With your injuries you must have seen a doctor at least once?" Kurt nodded again.

"We moved to Ohio, because a teacher at my old school saw some of my bruises. My parents told me to tell the social worker I fell out of a tree. It was always the same later as well. I was just clumsy and fell a lot. When I got older I learned how to deal with injuries myself so I didn't have to go to the hospital anymore," he confessed, and realized that the more he talked about it, the lighter he felt.

"When can I go home?" he asked then, because he needed to know what would happen to him now.

"I think your doctors said they wanted to keep you over night. I know social services are still talking to your mother to determine whether you can go home with her. Is there anyone you can stay with until they reach a decision? I'm sure you'd rather be with friends right now instead of strangers."

Kurt bobbed his head once more. He was sure Burt would allow him to stay for a night or two, if he couldn't go home.

"Alright, someone from social service will come by to talk to you as well and we will keep you updated in regards to your father. Unless he can post bail, I assume he will have to stay in jail until his court date. Would you like me to send your friend back in now?"

Kurt thought for a moment before he nodded. He knew he and Blaine had to talk, and maybe Blaine would go easy on him, if he was still in a hospital bed.

**_Blaine_ **

Blaine was pacing the hallway, questions running through his mind. How long had all that been going on? Had it already been happening when they were friends as kids? Why had Kurt never confided in him? Well, he could guess the answer to this, because he was sure he wouldn't have understood as a kid. He would probably have wanted to play the hero and protect Kurt like he had wanted to protect him from the mean kids at school.

Still, it felt as if he didn't know Kurt at all. Had everything Kurt had ever told him been lies? As much as it pained him to think about those things, he also didn't want to lose Kurt again. He couldn't let anyone take him away, just when he got his friend back.

"The police with Kurt?" his dad asked, who must have snuck up on him, because Blaine hadn't even seen him approach. Blaine nodded. "Your friends are all in the waiting room, refusing to leave before they get a chance to see Kurt. I told them, we'd probably want to ask him first." Blaine nodded again.

"Can Kurt stay with us?" he suddenly asked, his thoughts still preoccupied with worst case scenarios where social services moved Kurt to another city far away from Lima. His dad's shoulders slumped.

"As much as I would want that too, I don't think it's that easy," he told Blaine and Blaine's shoulders slumped as well. "But let me talk to the lady from social services for a moment okay?" his dad told him, pointing at an older lady approaching Kurt's hospital room.

"Excuse me, Burt Hummel, we spoke briefly already. I wanted to say that if Kurt needs a place to stay we'd be interested in taking him in permanently," his dad told the woman, who stopped to face them.

"Well, nothing is decided yet as I still need to speak with Kurt, but if you are really interested we can send someone over to your house on Monday, to go over the requirements with you and the vetting process," she explained and Blaine sighed because that sounded like a lot of bureaucracy would be involved and everyone knew the government didn't work very fast.

"We'd appreciate it," his dad told the woman.

"But until we reach a decision regarding his mother, we would of course let Kurt stay with you if this is what he wants. We want what is best for his wellbeing," she added and Blaine finally managed to smile a bit again.

If all went well, Kurt would tell a horror story about his mother as well and then he would come to stay with them permanently and Blaine could take care of him and help him move forward.

He watched as the police officer left Kurt's room and the woman from social services stepped inside, sitting back down on the floor, his dad next to him.

"You doing okay here, kiddo? I know you're not a fan of hospitals?" his dad asked as they were sitting next to each other on the hospital floor. Blaine shrugged.

"I feel better now that I know Kurt's going to be okay. But I still don't want to be back any time soon," he admitted.

The sat next to each other in silence for a while, Blaine answering the occasional text from New Directions about Kurt, but otherwise left to his thoughts. He hoped Kurt would open up to him about his past, because he had no idea how to help him, if he didn't know all the awful details. He had never wanted Kurt to get hurt and he felt like he had failed him as a friend by not protecting him or piecing the puzzle pieces together sooner.

Finally the woman left Kurt's room and told Blaine he could go back in. His dad was heading back to the waiting room with her and so Blaine got up and walked back into Kurt's room.

Kurt was sitting up now, his eyes slightly red, but looking a lot better than he had when Blaine had left him.

"So I have some questions," he opened nervously, but Kurt immediately shook his head.

"Can it wait till I get released? I really don't want to tell everything again. Twice was enough," Kurt pleaded and Blaine nodded because he didn't want to force Kurt to tell him.

"So are you excited to come home with us tomorrow?" he asked instead and Kurt gave him a tiny smile. "We can watch every musical on the planet unless dad forces me to go to school."

"Well, I'm not sure I'm staying long enough for us to get through every single musical there is, but I would like that," Kurt admitted and Blaine smiled even brighter, because if everything went well, Kurt would come to stay with them permanently.

**_Kurt_ **

Talking to first the police and then Mrs. Hoffs from social services had exhausted him, especially after he had to assure her multiple times that he wasn't afraid to go home with his mom, now that his dad was gone and couldn't hurt him anymore.

Hospital policy forced Blaine and Burt to leave when visiting hours ended, but they promised to come back the next morning and to pass on to New Directions that he was grateful that they had all come, but he was too exhausted at the moment to have more visitors. Truth was he didn't want them to see him in his hospital bed, looking even worse than he usually did.

Blaine and his dad brought him breakfast the next morning and with the help of the pain meds he could sit up fairly easily, though he still had to be careful not to jostle his ribs. After multiple check ups and another chest x-ray the doctor signed his release forms, but only after Kurt promised to take it easy and wouldn't try to move around too much. He'd have to come in at least once a week until he was deemed completely healed, but now that he didn't have to come up with excuses for his injuries any more, he didn't mind too much.

Blaine had taken his request to not ask him questions until they got back to his house to heart and was racing his hospital mandated wheel chair to the exit, though he was careful that nothing happened to Kurt.

On the way to Blaine's house, they filled his prescription, which Kurt was glad for because he knew how much injured ribs could hurt. Afterward, Blaine and Burt helped him upstairs to their guest room slash office and Kurt settled on the bed, pillow behind his back to make it easier for him to sit up.

After putting a glass of water and his pills on the nightstand Burt left them alone and Kurt shifted awkwardly on the bed.

"You said you had questions?" Kurt finally said when Blaine just kept sitting there, looking at him with a look on his face Kurt couldn't place. Blaine nodded.

"What happened? I mean I know what happened, but I don't understand how you could have kept something like this hidden for so long."

Kurt knew he couldn't hide from his closest friend forever and so for the third time in two days he told the story of his life, leaving out some details though to spare Blaine and because there were still some things he wasn't willing to talk about. He knew he should have expected it, but he still hated that he had made Blaine cry and wasn't it ironic that suddenly he was the one doing to comforting.

"God, Kurt. Why did you never tell anyone? I could have told my dad and he would have known what to do, I'm sure," Blaine said after he had composed himself a little.

Kurt shrugged because there was no satisfying answer. "Maybe I would have told you at some point if you had kept writing me or invited me to Columbus like you promised. But when I never heard from you again, I thought you didn't care about me anymore and so I never said anything. There never was anyone, I could have said anything to after you left."

He didn't want Blaine to blame himself, because they were just kids back then, but Blaine looked stricken.

"You thought I stopped caring about you? I cried for weeks when you stopped talking to me. I even talked my dad into driving to your house, but your mom said you were at a sleep over with new friends. I could see the light on in your room, so I thought you just didn't want to see me anymore."

Kurt's face fell. Had his parents really gone to such length to make sure Kurt never had anyone in his life he could rely on or confide in?

"You did?" he whispered, a tear trickling down his face and when Blaine pulled him into a gentle hug, careful of his injuries, Kurt welcomed the embrace.

"I'm so sorry Kurt. I should have tried harder. I should have known you wouldn't just drop me the moment I left," Blaine cried into his shoulder and Kurt shook his head.

"It's not your fault. There was nothing we could have done and I've forgiven you a long time ago. And even if I still harbored some resentment, it stopped the moment you told me you still wanted to hang out even though our project was done."

They cried against each other's shoulders for what felt like hours, before Burt knocked on the door and told them dinner would arrive in twenty minutes and to call him if Blaine needed help getting Kurt downstairs.

"I know you told social services that you feel okay about going home with your mom, but are you sure that's a good idea? After what she did to us?" Blaine finally asked, when they had both stopped crying.

"We don't even know if it was her idea, and I really believe that things will be better now with my dad out of the picture," Kurt assured Blaine. Maybe it was stupid to still hope for something like this, but perhaps there was a way to get a least one family member back and to be happy.

He knew there would be regular visits from social services if he were allowed to go back home, so he doubted his mom could continue the way she was before. He needed to take the chance because it was still seven months till his eighteenth birthday and at his age no foster parents would be interested in taking him in. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to survive seven months in a group home, where he might be surrounded by people like Karofsky all the time.

"If you're sure. But please promise to tell me if she does anything to you," Blaine pleaded and Kurt nodded. His mother had never laid a hand on him before and he doubted she would start now.

Burt let Blaine stay home Monday to keep Kurt company. They managed to get through bootlegged copies of Wicked, Cinderella and Sweeney Todd before Blaine excused himself because they had a visitor. Kurt's pain meds made him tired a lot anyway, and so he took a nap until Blaine was back.

Tuesday, Blaine had to go back to school, but Burt stayed home with him, and Kurt even watched a few football games with him to show how grateful his was to be allowed to stay with the Hummels.

Later that afternoon Mrs. Hoffs came by to talk to him again.

"We've interviewed your mother and if you still feel it's safe for you to go home, you can. There are things we require her to do if she wants to keep you like get a job, and agree to unscheduled visits by our social workers, and so far she has agreed to them to avoid getting charged as well. It's up do you, Kurt," she explained.

Kurt knew his mom wouldn't like having to work, but that would mean she'd be out of the house a lot more and away from him. And maybe all this had been a wake up call for her and they could be a real family now.

He knew he probably shouldn't get his hopes up, but there was nothing in the world he wanted more than to have a proper family.


	13. Chapter 12: Aftermath

**_Kurt_ **

With the new government restrictions in place, Kurt suddenly had a lot more freedom. His mother was furious that she had to find a job though, but apparently the alternative, being charged with neglect or something like that - Kurt wasn't so sure about that - was worse than having to stay in his company.

Blaine came by every day after school while Kurt had to stay home, bringing him homework they worked on together while Sally was out looking for a job.

During his first medical check up after Sectionals, which Burt and Blaine drove him to, the doctor declared that Kurt was allowed to go back to school, but unfortunately he wasn't allowed to sing yet.

Mrs. Hoffs had made it clear to his mother that he was to be allowed to choose his own after school activities as well as meet friends like any other teen, not that he could have tested it yet because of his injuries. The Glee topic hadn't been mentioned again, but Kurt was sure he'd be allowed to go back. He would just have to sit still and listen in Glee until he was better again.

As much as he wanted to go back to school after being holed up in his basement room all day for nearly a week he was also a bit apprehensive, because what if one of the bullies got to him and upset his injuries or people were making fun of him?

It was probably all over school by now that the school freak got beat up by his dad and everyone saw. To his relief, Blaine picked him up the morning of his first day back at school like he had in the past.

"Ready for your first day back?" his asked after taking Kurt's backpack and helping him into the car.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Kurt replied.

"Don't worry. Everyone in Glee will be looking out for you so no one can hurt you," Blaine assured him and Kurt felt relieved. In the past he would have been embarrassed that he needed bodyguards at school to ensure his safety, but that was then and things were different now.

When they got to the school, Rachel was already waiting for them, bouncing on her toes excitedly. Kurt had refused to let anyone see him while he was recovering at home, still not wanting anyone apart from Blaine to see his house.

"I'm so glad you are back, Kurt," she told him and Kurt smiled at her because the loud girl was growing on him, though her sweaters made him want to gouge his eyes out. If he had money for clothes he would never wear the hideous things she wore.

"Blaine and I are your escorts this morning and Noah will make sure people leave you alone in homeroom. The Glee club worked out a schedule to help you out. Well, everyone but Finn, because he is afraid to anger his precious football team," she added with a frown.

Kurt didn't understand why she was dating the big quarterback again when she could do so much better and deserved more in a boyfriend, but he kept his mouth shut. Who was he to comment on other people's relationships when he had never been in one himself?

"That's okay, Rachel," he told her instead. "Thank you."

He hadn't looked around yet, focused on Rachel and Blaine who were each walking on one of his sides, but when he looked up he noticed that pretty much every student was staring at him, some whispering to one another.

"They all know, don't they?" he sighed and Blaine tensed next to him.

"This jerk Jacob Ben Israel was at the competition because Mr. Schuester had wanted him to write an article about Glee for the school paper. He recorded everything and put it online. Coach Beiste made him take it down when she found out, but not before most of the school had already seen it," Rachel recounted furiously.

Great, Kurt thought. That was exactly what he needed right now. He wouldn't be surprised if people still dared to make fun of him. He didn't know what would be worse – their pity or their mocking.

"But like I said, Noah threatened to take care of anyone who dares to say something."

He didn't need people to fight all his battles, but he also didn't want to seem ungrateful, so he just nodded and kept his head down for the rest of the walk through the parking lot.

Just as they had promised, at least one member of the Glee club was with him between every class and he and Blaine met up during lunch break at their usual table in the library, where Kurt accepted half of Blaine's sandwich but only after forcing Blaine to take half of the PB&J sandwich he had made at home.

"You doing okay so far?" he asked concerned and Kurt nodded.

"Just a bit tired but that was to be expected. It's better with the new meds though," he explained.

"We don't have to go to Glee. I could drive you home after class or you could just take my car and Rachel could give me a lift to your place afterward," Blaine suggested and Kurt's face fell, because there was still so much about his life Blaine didn't know.

"I don't have a driver's license," he admitted "and I really want to hear your song." Blaine had refused to tell him what song he had planned for Kurt's return to Glee and he was dying to find out. If he knew Blaine it would probably be perfect.

Blaine didn't comment on the driver's license thing thankfully and just smiled at him bashfully. "Okay then, I hope you like it."

Finally his last class was over and he followed Tina and Mike to the choir room. The whole group was already standing around the piano and when they stepped back, they revealed a banner spelling "Welcome back, Kurt!" over a trophy on top of the piano.

"It didn't feel right to celebrate without you here," Mercedes explained and Kurt put his hand over his mouth in shock, not having expected such a nice gesture.

"Thank you guys," he whispered.

"Now, your friends have prepared a little something for you. Blaine, do you want to start us off?" Mr. Schuester spoke up and Blaine took Kurt's hand and led him over to a chair in the middle of the room. Blaine's touch was electric and though it wasn't the first time Blaine had touched him, it was the first time they held hands since they were kids. Their hands fit perfectly together in his opinion, but all too soon Blaine let go to join the rest of the club and stepped in front of them.

_When you're down and troubled_

_And you need some loving care_

_And nothing, nothing is going right_

_Close your eyes and think of me_

_And soon I will be there_

_To brighten up even your darkest night_

_You just call out my name_

_And you know wherever I am_

_I'll come running to see you again_

_Winter, spring, summer or fall_

_All you have to do is call_

_And I'll be there_

_You've got a friend_

_If the sky above you_

_Grows dark and full of clouds_

_And that old north wind begins to blow_

_Keep your head together_

_And call my name out loud_

_Soon you'll hear me knocking at your door_

_You just call out my name_

_And you know wherever I am_

_I'll come running to see you_

_Winter, spring, summer or fall_

_All you have to do is call_

_And I'll be there_

_Ain't it good to know that you've got a friend_

_When people can be so cold_

_They'll hurt you, and desert you_

_And take your soul if you let them_

_Oh, but don't you let them_

_You just call out my name_

_And you know wherever I am_

_I'll come running to see you again_

_Winter, spring, summer or fall_

_All you have to do is call_

_And I'll be there_

_You've got a friend_

The rest of the club started harmonizing behind Blaine after the first verse, joining him on the chorus as well and Kurt thought they sounded amazing singing a capella. He was especially touched because he was sure they must have rehearsed quite a bit.

Tears were streaming down his face by the time they were done and he allowed those of the club who wanted to hug him carefully.

"Thank you. I wouldn't know what to do without all of you. Especially Blaine," he added not caring for once whether he ended up blushing or not. He hoped Blaine knew, Kurt was beyond grateful to have him as a friend, but it couldn't hurt to remind him.

Blaine just gave him his thousand-watt smile and took his hand again.

"Come on, let's get you home. I think that was enough excitement for one day."

**_Blaine_ **

After Blaine dropped Kurt off at home he drove over to his dad's shop to help out for a bit. His dad was bent over an old Chevy when Blaine walked in, but looked up when he spotted him.

"Kurt have a good first day back?" he asked and Blaine smiled brightly.

"Yeah, everything went fine."

He quickly changed into his coveralls and joined his dad in the garage again. Looking at the old car his dad was working on at the moment gave him an idea.

"Kurt told me he doesn't even have a driver's license and so I was wondering if you couldn't teach him how to drive like you did with me when I was younger," he suggested and his dad looked up.

"I think that's a good idea. The kid needs to be able to get out more."

"Yeah, and I thought maybe we could rebuild an old car with him. He liked helping when we were kids. I thought we could give it to him for Christmas, but I would pay for the parts and stuff of course."

His dad raised an eyebrow at that before giving him one of those smiles Blaine never knew what they meant and nodded. "Sounds great, but you don't have to pay for it. And I think it be good for social services to see that we include Kurt in our lives whether he lives with us or not."

Blaine pulled his dad into a hug, ending up with some oil on his cheek but he didn't care.

"So I take it that Kurt liked your song?" his dad asked a while later when they took a quick coffee break.

"It made him cry," Blaine admitted.

"Well, I'm sure it wasn't because you sucked. I had to listen to you and your friends practice each night for the past few days after all." There was that smile again.

"What?" he had to ask. His dad just smirked.

"Oh, nothing."

Blaine rolled his eyes at his dad before going back to another car that needed a tire change. It often snowed crazy early in Ohio and so people started getting their winter tires early. Neither of the Hummels was complaining though, because it meant an increase in business.

"Don't forget that Mrs. Hoffs is coming by tomorrow afternoon to tell me the results of my background check and if we are financially stable enough to foster Kurt," his dad reminded him when they were closing the shop and Blaine cursed. He had promised Kurt they would spend the afternoon together, but if he went to football practice he wouldn't have time for Kurt if he wanted to attend the meeting as well, which he did. Strength in numbers, like the coach used to say.

Kurt looked sad when he told him the next morning that he had to change their plans, and because he liked smiling Kurt a lot better than unhappy Kurt, he decided that skipping football practice just once without a good reason wouldn't get him killed by the coach.

"I thought we could go to the Lima Bean for coffee instead after school," he suggested and Kurt perked up.

"What's the Lima Bean?" he asked, reminding Blaine again that so many things that were normal for teenagers were experiences Kurt had never had.

"It's a coffee shop. They make amazing lattes," he gushed hoping Kurt would like them. He preferred drip coffee but Kurt looked like someone who could like lattes.

Kurt's face lit up. "Oh, I've always wanted to go to one," he told Blaine excitedly and suddenly skipping football practice seemed like the best idea ever.

An excited Kurt pretty much bounced over to Blaine's car after classes were over, but Blaine still had to help him inside the car, afraid Kurt would upset his ribs due to his excitement.

The Lima Bean was rather empty this early in the afternoon and Blaine led Kurt over to a table in the back, before heading over to the counter to order for him and Kurt. When he returned with his medium drip and a latte for Kurt, Kurt looked less excited though all of a sudden.

"I forgot I don't have money for this," he said, voice tinged with sadness and so Blaine just gave him a big smile.

"It's on me dummy. After all I pretty much forced you to come here," he joked and Kurt relaxed a bit.

"Maybe I could help out in your dad's shop a bit to earn some money," Kurt suddenly suggested and Blaine perked up at the idea. They could spend even more time together and if he really wanted to rebuild a car with Kurt and his dad, it wouldn't hurt if Kurt could get some practice first.

"I'll talk to my dad," Blaine promised before they launched a discussion about the songs Kurt wanted to sing in Glee as soon as he was allowed to sing again. Thanks to the daily rides in Blaine's car, Kurt was more up to date with current music now and they chatted about that for a bit.

Blaine didn't have much experience with dating but he had always imagined a good first date should be like that and he wondered why he felt more comfortable with Kurt than any of the few boys he had been on dates with.

The topic changed then to the movies Blaine still wanted Kurt to see, but after a while Kurt's expression became a bit pained and Blaine thought it was time to drive him home to get some rest. It was only his second day back after all and he didn't want Kurt to exhaust himself.

Mrs. Hoffs' visit thankfully went off without a hitch. As expected nothing had shown up in his dad's background check and owning a business was apparently a big plus as well. There were still a lot of bureaucratic hoops they would have to jump through to get custody of Kurt though, should it turn out that he couldn't stay with Mrs. Anderson. Blaine was torn on the issue. He wanted Kurt to be happy with his mother, but he also couldn't forgive her that easily for what she had allowed Kurt's father to do him.

With the help of the Kurt protection squad, the rest of the week was uneventful apart from football practice on Thursday. Blaine usually didn't have to join the rest of the team for their practice, focusing on working on his kicks, so he was caught completely off guard when Karofsky suddenly tackled him while he was preparing for a kick.

He went down like a sack of potatoes, Karofsky being a least a few inches taller and probably a hundred pounds heavier. For a moment the breath was knocked out of him, but before Karofsky could do more damage he was pulled off by coach Beiste, who was furious.

"Do you want to be benched for the next game, Karofsky?" she yelled. "We only have one kicker and you think it's a good idea to throw him to the ground."

Karofsky just stood there and glared at Blaine. "Just wanted to remind him not to skip again for a homo date," he growled before coach Beiste grabbed his arm.

"Hit the showers, you are done for today."

Blaine took a step back when Karofsky made a move to come at him again, but must have decided it wasn't worth getting thrown off the team over, as he stalked toward the building, yelling "this isn't over," at Blaine.

"You okay kid?" the coach asked him after she told the rest of the team to get back to practice. Blaine nodded, because although everything hurt, he was sure Karofsky hadn't managed to actually hurt him.

"I'm sorry about yesterday coach. I should have said something. It's just that Kurt had no one else to drive him and with his injuries he still needs help," he explained. The coach gave him a sympathetic smile.

"It's okay. Just tell me next time you need to be somewhere else. Like I said, we need you so I'd rather you miss practice a few times than not have you at all.

Blaine nodded shaking out his sore limbs. "You want to go as well?" coach Beiste asked and Blaine immediately shook his head. It would be a suicide mission to go into the locker room while Karofsky was still around.

"I think I just need to sit down for a few minutes," he told her and the coach nodded before heading back to the rest of the team.

***

Kurt's second check up on Saturday went well and the three of them drove over to his dad's favorite diner for a late lunch. For once Blaine let it slide when his dad ordered a steak and he watched happily as Kurt dug into his own food.

"Blaine said you're interested in helping out in the shop?" his dad asked Kurt while they were waiting for dessert and Kurt nodded. "You any good with computers? I need someone to type stuff up for me and maybe you could to that until you're well enough to start on the cars."

Kurt nodded enthusiastically again. "Alright then. Blaine usually does Saturday afternoons so maybe the two of you could work together that day," his dad suggested and Blaine nodded eagerly as well.

The shared some cheesecake for dessert and when Kurt excused himself his dad slid a pictures over to him. The car in the picture looked like it had been involved in a bad car crash and his dad confirmed his suspicion.

"The owner pretty much paid me to get rid of it because his insurance will pay for a new one. I thought we could fix it up for Kurt. It's nothing special but it will get him around."

Compared to his own Navigator, the green Ford was a piece of junk, but Blaine was sure Kurt wouldn't care what the car looked like as long as he actually had one and knew how to drive it.

"It's perfect," he told his dad.

Kurt was eager to start working and so they drove over to the garage after lunch, after Blaine made sure Kurt really wasn't too tired. He took a look at the green Ford hidden in the back, while his dad showed Kurt what to do on the computer, before he joined Blaine outside.

"Will we get it done till Christmas?" Blaine asked, because the car looked even worse in reality than it had in the picture. His dad shrugged.

"It's not like I can teach him how to drive until he can wear a proper seat belt again, but I'll see what we can do."

Four hours later, Blaine and Kurt left the garage together. Kurt was staring at the envelope in his hands containing his first paycheck. "I haven't had my own money since my neighbor died a few years back," he confided in Blaine and Blaine again felt the urge to visit the jail and punch Kurt's dad. Then he had an idea though.

"You know how Rachel always tries to get me to go to the mall with her. How about I call her and the three of us can go tomorrow? That'd be okay with your mom?" he asked, hoping to find out what was going on at Kurt's home as well this way.

Kurt's whole face lit up. "I'd love to. And I haven't seen much of my mom these past two weeks. She says she is out looking for a job, but as long as she leaves me alone, I couldn't care less what she does. At least I don't have to be afraid anymore, every time I come home," he added.

Blaine was relieved to hear that things were kind of all right at the moment, but he still wished Kurt could come stay with them, where people actually cared about him.

Rachel was ecstatic when Blaine called her and invited her to a trip to the mall and so he picked up Kurt Sunday morning and they drove to the mall together. He knew Kurt had never been and knowing that he put the smile on Kurt's face when he first entered it made Blaine beyond happy as well. As it was, he was always the happiest when Kurt was happy.

He knew Kurt wouldn't be able to buy much because his dad couldn't afford to pay them more than minimum wage so he steered him over to Target. Rachel had other ideas though.

"I think you should get a hair cut first. I can barely see your face with how long your hair is." Kurt tensed a bit but Blaine knew Rachel wasn't trying to be mean. Kurt was looking longingly at the clothing store though and so Blaine shot Rachel a look to tell her to let it go for now.

"Let's find you a shirt," he told Kurt before he took his hand and led him into the store. One hour later, Kurt had finally found something he was willing to spend his first paycheck on, and Blaine thought he looked great in the light blue button down shirt. He was sure it would go well with Kurt's eyes, though Rachel was right, one couldn't really see them anymore behind the bangs falling into his face.

"How about this," Rachel perked up then. "You let me pay for your hair cut – it's not expensive," she quickly added when she saw Kurt's expression, "and in exchange I let you pick an outfit for me."

Kurt stood for a moment, probably weighing the pros and cons but in the end his desire to make over Rachel must have won out, because he gave her a tiny nod.

Not wanting to be in the way, Blaine offered to get them some food from the food court while Rachel took Kurt to the hairdresser. After assuring Rachel, that yes he hadn't forgotten she was a vegan, he walked off, cursing the long line at the only place that had food Rachel would eat.

When he came back, Rachel was standing next to a tall and skinny boy in a light blue shirt, whose brown hair was artfully styled and he froze when he realized it was Kurt.

Kurt's eyes were still as beautiful as he had remembered them and though he had never thought Kurt was ugly, he couldn't deny that he thought he was hot now.

He quickly schooled his expression because the last thing Kurt needed right now was his friend drooling all over him. Because one thing was certain. Kurt didn't need a boyfriend right now – what he needed was a best friend who supported him and was there for him, not a friend who suddenly developed a dirty mind when he was around.


	14. Chapter 13: Mother Dearest

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt was humming to himself when he walked up to the front door after Rachel dropped him off, Blaine having to run another errand for his dad. He had barely recognized himself when he had looked into the mirror after Stefan was done with him. He looked older and more confident than he usually felt. Rachel had convinced him, after much begging, to put on the new shirt so she could see what he looked like now and judging by the look on Blaine's face when he spotted them, he must have looked more than okay.

"My, my, aren't you pretty?" Sally suddenly brought him back to the present. "Did you finally find someone willing to pay for you to touch him?"

Kurt dropped the bag containing his old shirt and curled his arm around him protectively. He was not going to let her destroy this amazing day, he told himself. His mother eyed him critically, causing Kurt to shiver at the intensity of her stare.

"If you don't want whoever bought you that stuff to be your last customer, I'd watch it. You're getting fat – must be all the free-loading you are doing at that boy's house," she remarked coldly and Kurt's face fell.

He had been sure he looked good after his own makeover – Rachel had told him so and Blaine had looked shocked as well. But maybe Blaine had actually just been shocked, because he thought Kurt should have kept his face covered. He realized he was still just standing in the hallway, while his mother observed him coldly, and so he grabbed his bag and bolted downstairs.

Kurt hated how easily his mother always got to him with her words, but still he found himself standing on a chair in his bathroom to see his body in the mirror. Was he really getting fat? Burt had told him he looked better now that he had put on a few pounds, but maybe he had just tried to be polite. He had always thought he was too skinny, his ribs protruding and stomach curving inwards, but maybe he had actually been more attractive to people then. But then again, no one who mattered had ever found him attractive, so how should he know? He was just skinny, had no muscles and was way too pale. But maybe his mother was right, and people – Blaine, his brain substituted- would be even less interested in him if gained even more pounds.

He spent the rest of the evening in his bedroom, catching up on homework, and only went upstairs when his mother left the house to see a friend as she had yelled. There wasn't anything healthy in the fridge and after having lunch from the food court already, Kurt decided that junk food a second time today would surely make him explode. It had been a while since he had gone to bed hungry, but at least this way he wouldn't gain ten pounds overnight.

Luckily he didn't see his mother the next day before school either, and so he put his new shirt on again and tried to style his hair the way Stefan had shown him, with the hairspray he had gotten at the mall. When he was finally done, he walked upstairs and grabbed two slices of dry toast before he went outside where Blaine was already waiting for him.

Blaine smiled at him briefly before concentrating on the road and letting Kurt choose a radio station. Kurt felt like his biggest fears were coming true when Blaine pretty much avoided looking at him until they said goodbye at their lockers where Rachel was waiting for him already.

At least Karofsky must have liked his new outfit though, as he was pretty much openly leering at him when he and his cronies walked past, though no one else would interpret it as such probably. "What's up, pretty boy?" he sneered and Rachel leaned in closer to whisper in his ear.

"His insults are getting stranger and stranger." Kurt nodded but didn't say anything else. He knew Karofsky would hunt him down if he ever found out Kurt had told someone about the locker room 'incidents'.

All day, he felt Karofsky's eyes on him, and by the time fourth period came around he wanted nothing more than rip the shirt off of him, so Karofsky would stop staring. He suddenly felt dirty in the piece of clothing he had spend close to an hour picking out and he hated the other boy for making him feel that way. He had promised Blaine to stay in the classroom until he picked him up for lunch, but his locker was right down the hallway and he was itching to cover himself up.

"Hummel's bitch," a voice called out to him, just as he closed his locker and Kurt knew he had made a mistake going into the hallway alone. He turned around slowly, expecting at least half of the football team to be there, but it was just Karofsky holding a slushie cup in his hand.

"Who did you have to blow to get your fancy clothes," he taunted loudly, causing a few other students to snicker and Kurt was sure he heard someone 'subtly' supply Blaine's name, but Kurt kept his focus on Karofsky, unwilling to show him that he was scared.

Suddenly Karofsky took another step toward him and lowered his voice so that only Kurt could hear him. "I hope this is see through when wet," he whispered before Kurt got drenched in blue slushie. He crossed his arms over his chest instinctively, before turning on his heels and running away from Karofsky. He ran past Blaine who was calling out to him, but ignored him in favor of getting away as fast as he could.

He knew he was crying when he finally reached the slushie bathroom and was clawing at the buttons of the shirt to get it off. He felt disgusting, but not because of the slushie. If it would stop Karofsky from leering at him, he would never wear anything nice again, and maybe getting fat wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Suddenly Blaine was right behind him, just as Kurt got the shirt off and flung it toward the bin, because he knew it was ruined now. He quickly pulled the sweatshirt he had gotten from his locker over his head to shield himself from Blaine because right now, he didn't want anyone to see him exposed like that.

"It's going to be okay Kurt," Blaine told him. "I can get you a new shirt, if you want. It's really no problem."

Somehow Kurt saw red in this moment – sick and tired of always being the victim. "God Blaine, I don't need you to fight all my battles for me," he yelled at the other boy, ignoring the hurt look on his face. "I get that you want to help me, but I'm not a charity case, I'm not a project for you to work on so you can feel better. I knew it was a bad idea to wear something nice to school, but I did it anyway. So don't blame yourself for this and stop treating me like this weak little thing who needs constant protection from the big boy with the mean words."

Kurt was panting by the time he was finished with his rant, but it felt good to get things off his chest. Maybe it wasn't fair to blow up on Blaine and make him feel bad for wanting to help, but sometimes it was just too much and Kurt wished he was still anonymous, a nobody people didn't care about.

Blaine looked really hurt after Kurt's outburst, but Kurt wasn't ready to apologize for telling Blaine how he felt quite often. "I'll give you some space then," Blaine muttered.

When Kurt finally left the bathroom as well, Rachel was waiting for him, obviously having been informed by Blaine to get him. He gave her a watery smile and was grateful she didn't ask any questions.

"Blaine wanted to know if you are still coming to Glee or if he should drive you home after classes. Unless, you don't want him to drive you," she told him as she walked with him to the empty choir room. He had told her he wasn't in the mood to go to the library and he was definitely not setting foot into the cafeteria, protection squad or not.

"I think I'll sit this one out in the library, but you can tell him I'd appreciate it if he drives me if he still wants to," Kurt conceded because he really didn't want their argument to turn into a real fight.

The library was empty, thankfully, for the one and a half hours Kurt spent there and he gave Blaine a weak smile when he came by to pick him up. He was glad he could climb into the car on his own by now, because he felt awkward being close to Blaine at the moment.

Instead of starting the car, however, Blaine turned to face him as soon as they were both seated.

"I'm really sorry Kurt. I think you are so strong and sometimes I tend to forget that, because I hate to see you get hurt. And I don't think of you as a charity case – I just hated that Karofsky destroyed something you worked for."

Kurt licked his dry lips. "And why is that?" he whispered. "Why do you care so much?" It was probably stupid to put himself out there like that, but he was sure he hadn't imagined the look on Blaine's face in the mall.

Blaine seemed to hesitate for a moment, before he smiled at Kurt.

"You are my best friend, dummy – of course I care."

Kurt tried not to let his disappointment show, because of course Blaine thought of him as just a friend. But he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Blaine had said they were best friends after all, but Kurt suspected it was only because Blaine didn't really have any other friends at McKinley apart from Rachel maybe, who seemed to love hanging out with the two of them.

They didn't talk during the short drive and Kurt hurried to get out of the car, before he embarrassed himself even further.

When he got inside, his mom was sitting in the living room, and Kurt paled when he saw what she was holding in his hand.

"Dear diary," she read mockingly. "Blaine's so amazing, I wish we could be more than friends. He would be the perfect boyfriend."

How had she gotten her hands on his diary? He had always been careful with it, though his parents had never really come into his room, but apparently he had gotten careless.

"Blaine held my hand today for a moment in Glee and it was magical. Why can't he see me as more than a friend," his mom continued while his heart sank.

"God, it's pathetic how you throw yourself at this boy. As if a boy like him would ever be interested in you. Even if he were gay - that would mean he’d like boys not girls like you. The only thing you'd be good for, would be a quick fuck if someone was really that desperate, because people would be way too embarrassed to be seen with you in public," she continued taunting him and Kurt fled to his room, before she could say more awful things about him.

The worst part was that she was probably right. After all, he should count himself lucky Blaine even wanted to be his friend. The only person who seemed to be semi interested in him was a closeted jock who didn't see him as more as a fuck toy after all.

Maybe if he were more attractive, Blaine would actually like him. In a fit of rage he took the mirror of the bathroom wall and propped it up against the wall in his room before taking off all his clothes.

There was just nothing that would be remotely attractive to other people. His skin was too pale, his hips were pear shaped even though he had been really skinny for years, his stomach was flabby now that he had put on some weight and he had no muscle definition whatsoever. No wonder Blaine just wanted to be his friend. He wouldn't want to date himself either.

He didn't have much time to wallow in self-pity though, because his mother soon yelled for him to start dinner. As always, there was nothing healthy in their refrigerator and Kurt kept pushing his food around on the plate while Sally glared at him every few seconds.

"What? Our food not good enough anymore for you or did you realize you are turning into a whale?" she spat and that was all it took for Kurt to completely lose his appetite.

"May I be excused?" he whispered, but his mother shook his head. "I don't pay for your food so you can throw it out." Kurt felt sick to his stomach when his plate was finally empty, but he drudged into the kitchen to do the dishes, because he knew he wouldn't get out of that either.

The next morning he quickly climbed into Blaine's car, before he could offer to help him and refused his help again when they arrived at school. He had decided that there would be no more touching between them, because it would only break his heart even more when Blaine found a boyfriend if he thought the touches meant anything.

Instead of going to the library, he went to the empty choir room again, hiding out until classes resumed. Blaine had football practice that afternoon so it was easy to avoid him and thankfully Rachel offered to give him a lift home.

Wednesday was pretty much the same. He didn't actively avoid Blaine, because he knew that would only make the other boy ask questions, but he did tell Rachel he felt too tired for Glee and walked off before anyone could follow him. It felt weird having to walk home again, but it was for the best. Maybe he would get over his stupid infatuation with Blaine faster if he just kept his distance.

His heart though didn't seem to agree with his brain, because as he was flipping through some sheet music he had copied at school, he came across a song that made him burst into tears before he even finished the first verse.

Taking a deep breath he tried again, because according to Rachel, Glee club was all about getting your feelings out through song, and if that wasn't the perfect song for him right now than what was?

As he stood in the middle of the room, he imagined Blaine sitting on his bed, absentmindedly texting a boy he like more than just a friend.

_Share my life, take me for what I am_

_'Cause I'll never change all my colors for you_

_Take my love, I'll never ask for too much_

_Just all that you are and everything that you do_

 

_I don't really need to look very much further_

_I don't want to have to go where you don't follow_

_I won't hold it back again, this passion inside_

_I can't run from myself, there's nowhere to hide_

_Don't make me close one more door_

_I don't wanna hurt anymore_

_Stay in my arms if you dare_

_Or must I imagine you there_

_Don't walk away from me_

_I have nothing, nothing, nothing_

_If I don't have you, you, you, you, you_

 

_You see through, right to the heart of me_

"Oh my God, please shut up. It sounds like someone ran over a cat down there," his mom's voice suddenly disrupted him and imaginary Blaine disappeared from his bed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you are home," Kurt told her dejectedly, pushing his sheet music away.

"Well I am and I don't want to listen to you butchering this song. God knows why they let you into that singing club. They must have taken pity on you, because no sane person would want to hear you sing."

Kurt curled his arm around his middle, treacherous tears already streaming down his face again when the doorbell rang upstairs.

"Go wash your face. I can't let you be seen like this," his mom ordered and Kurt hurried into his tiny bathroom to splash some water onto his face. Once he was satisfied with his reflection in the mirror that was still in his room, he plastered on a fake smile and went upstairs.

Mrs. Hoffs was sitting on the living room couch when Kurt came upstairs and she asked him to join her.

"It's nice to see you again Kurt. Your mother just went to make coffee for us." Well that was definitely a first. "You look so much better already. How have you been doing?" the kind woman asked and Kurt hurriedly told her that he was doing just fine. After all, no one was hitting him anymore so that had to count for something, right?

The woman who joined them a few moments later was a whole new person. She was polite and played the doting mother so well, Kurt thought she deserved an award. But he was too emotionally drained to rain on her parade and so he just sat back and enjoyed the few minutes where his mom actually behaved like a decent human being. He also didn't want to make a scene, because he knew things could be so much worse than just a few harsh words that were probably true anyway.

Mrs. Hoffs left after half an hour, apparently satisfied because Kurt had managed to act like everything was fine, but as soon as she had left his mom dropped the act and glared at him.

"Get out of my sight. I really don't want to see your ugly face right now."

Kurt hurried back downstairs and flung a blanket over the mirror that seemed to be mocking him, before he fell onto his bed, falling asleep hungry and crying like he had so many times in the past.

**_Blaine_ **

"You okay kiddo?" his dad asked when Blaine kept pushing his food around on his plate. "I know it can't be my cooking skills, because we ordered in. So what's wrong?"

Blaine pushed his plate away and sighed. "It's Kurt. We got into an argument and I thought we were okay again after I apologized, but he's been avoiding me since and when we are together he always makes sure to keep his distance. Today I tried to take his hand and he ripped it away as if I had burned him. I just don't understand what I did wrong," he confided in his dad, who raised his eyebrow.

"You kids holding hands now?" he asked and Blaine shrugged. "We did when we were kids, so I don't see why it should be a big deal." Well maybe he did, but he wasn't going to tell his dad that he just liked holding Kurt's hand. And Kurt didn't seem to have minded either until the slushie incident.

"Yeah, but you are not kids anymore. Holding hands is kinda what couples do. Is that what you want for you and Kurt?" his dad asked and Blaine immediately shook his head, because it didn't matter what he wanted right now.

"What? No, we are just friends, you know that."

"Blaine, it's okay if you do, but you should tell him, because right now you are probably just confusing him with your behavior."

Was that what he was doing? He hadn't thought about that because he was sure Kurt only saw him as a friend.

"It doesn't matter if I want to date him or not. Kurt needs a friend right now, not a boyfriend and even if I did, I'm sure Kurt doesn't like me that way," he finally said causing his dad to chuckle.

"What?" Blaine asked when his dad wouldn't stop laughing.

"It's just, I thought I was oblivious when I first met your mom, but you are something else entirely. I've seen the way he looks at you when he thinks you aren't looking. I don't think you have to worry about Kurt not liking you."

Blaine perked up at that before he remembered that it didn't really matter. And his dad probably just mistook gratitude for something more.

"Maybe I'll talk to him once he had some time to come to terms with all that has happened," he told his dad, hoping to end the conversation. His dad sobered immediately.

"Don't wait too long, Blaine. Kurt is a nice boy and sooner or later someone is going to realize that. I wouldn't want to see you get hurt, because you waited too long and Kurt found someone else."

Blaine didn't think that was very likely, because they were the only gay kids in school, apart from maybe Santana and Brittany, and Kurt never went anywhere alone where he could meet another guy. No, he would give Kurt time to heal and if it looked like there was something more than friendship between them he would make a move then.

"Maybe I should invite him to see Rent with me at the community theater," he mused. "He loves musicals, so he'll have to forgive me." His dad rolled his eyes, but Blaine wasn't paying attention to him anymore. He quickly put the rest of his food into the fridge and went upstairs to put his plan in motion.

Kurt reacted as expected when Blaine cornered him the next day and asked if Kurt would like to join him, before suggesting he'd ask Rachel to drive him to the mall so he could get something nice for it, emphasizing Kurt could pay him back after he got his next paycheck. He wouldn't make the same mistake again, after all.

Rachel stopped him at his locker a few days later, a serious expression on her face. "You have to tell him if you don't want this to be a date," she opened without preamble and Blaine looked around quickly to check no one had heard her.

"Why would he think it's a date? I never said anything," he whispered, his mouth suddenly dry.

"Seriously, Blaine? I was there when you asked him. The way you asked him. And then you told him to buy a nice outfit for the evening from the money you gave him. Hell, even I would think you were asking me out on a date."

Blaine eyes widened. Had he given Kurt the impression he was asking him out on a date? "Oh no, that's not good," he whispered.

"So you don't like him?" Rachel asked clearly wanting some gossip, though she looked weirdly sad.

"We are just friends, Rachel," he reminded her, because he was certain she would tell Kurt if he told her about his real feelings.

"Right," Rachel told him, before turning on her heels and walking off. Blaine looked after her, shaking his head. Girls were so hard to understand sometimes.

The next two days went by quickly and before he knew it he was picking up Kurt for their non-date. Kurt was wearing black skinny jeans, black shoes and a deep purple shirt under the cardigan Blaine had given him, but no coat.

Blaine quickly turned the heat up in his car, before he turned to face Kurt. "Jesus, Kurt. Are you crazy? It's November, why aren't you wearing a coat?"

Kurt blushed. "I didn't want to embarrass you at the theater if I showed up in that ugly old thing," he admitted while staring at his hands. Blaine decided to throw caution in the wind for a moment and put his hand over Kurt's.

"Hey, I don't care about things like that. And it's just community theater not the Philharmonics. So don't you ever feel like you are not good enough, okay?"

Kurt gave him a small nod, and Blaine was starting to regret he had told Kurt to buy himself a new outfit. He had just wanted to cheer him up, not make him think Blaine would be embarrassed to be seen with him in public if he wore his normal clothes.

He held Kurt's hand as they made their way through the theater, because he didn't want to lose Kurt in the crowd, but made sure to tell Kurt how excited he was to see the musical with his best friend. Emphasis on best friend. There was no way he would actually tell Kurt that this wasn't a date, because what if Kurt had never thought that in the first place, or worse what if he had thought it was one, and Blaine broke his heart or something. No he'd rather not go there at all, because even if Kurt liked him, he was still sure Kurt wasn't actually ready to act on liking someone.

"You make a cute couple," a young woman sitting next to them told them during intermission and Blaine quickly withdrew his hand from Kurt's – and how had that even ended up there again? "We are not," he told her politely and she blushed. "Oh sorry. I shouldn't have assumed."

He made sure his hand stayed in his own lap for the second part of the show, walking a few steps behind Kurt when they went back to his car. This whole no touching thing because it could imply things was harder than he thought, but he knew it would all pay off in the end.

 

**_Kurt_ **

Kurt had years of practice hiding his true emotions and he was thankful for that when Blaine drove him home after a wonderful night at the theater. He shouldn't have let himself hope that Blaine taking him out to see the show was more than a friendly gesture, but he still had and so it had hurt when Blaine had pulled his hand away and had kept his distance after the woman had assumed they were a couple.

He knew there was only one thing to do to get over Blaine fast – keep his distance. Luckily, Rachel always wanted to hang out, and so it wasn't too hard to come up with excuses as to why he couldn't hang out with Blaine.

"Are you avoiding me again?" Blaine asked him a few days later, and Kurt made sure to look all confused. "I don't know what you mean Blaine. You drive me to school every morning and we work together on Saturdays. And wasn't it you who told me I could use more friends and to give Rachel a chance? Maybe you should take your own advice. Sam and Puck always invite you to play video games after school."

"I drive you home after school," Blaine argued and Kurt rolled his eyes. "Rachel can drive me or I can walk. All I'm saying is that you could probably use a few friends too. We can't spend all our time with just each other." Even though I want to, his heart added.

He knew the smile on Blaine's face was fake when he left, but he didn't know what Blaine wanted from him. If they were just friends, than it shouldn't matter to Blaine that Kurt wanted to hang out with other people as well.

Soon his mom realized too that Blaine wasn't around much any more, and she used every opportunity to ask if Blaine had finally come to his senses and realized he was too good to hang out with Kurt. Kurt didn't bother correcting her because she had been right. Blaine wasn't interested and it would be just pathetic if he kept trying to pursue something that would never happen.

So when Rachel invited him over to her house one Friday after school, it wasn't so hard for him to cancel on Friday night dinner with the Hummels. Rachel's dads fascinated him, because what in the world made them decide Ohio was a good place to raise a child. All he could think about was that he wished he could have what they had one day if he ever managed to get out of Lima.

Blaine wasn't at the shop Saturday afternoon, but Burt wasn't willing to tell him where he was when he picked him up and drove him over to the garage. His ribs were finally healed enough that Burt was starting to show him how to do oil changes and minor repairs, but he had to admit he missed Blaine's presence while he worked.

Just as he was finishing up, Blaine's car pulled up front and Kurt pulled his coat on to go out and meet him.

"Where were you this afternoon?" he asked, immediately hating how clingy he sounded. Blaine blushed before he answered. "Oh, ah, I had coffee with this guy I met at the mall."

Even though Kurt knew this would happen one day, he felt his heart break when Blaine told him he had been on a date. Coffee was their thing now, he had thought, which was stupid because it was just two friends hanging out after school from time to time after all.

"That's great," he forced himself to say, quickly putting his mask back in place so Blaine wouldn't realize how he really felt about it.

"Yeah? I mean it was just coffee, you know," Blaine stuttered, looking mildly uncomfortable and Kurt quickly changed the subject, telling Blaine what he had learned today.

"Hey do you want to hang out tomorrow? Maybe head over to the Lima Bean. I want to make it up to you for leaving you alone here today," Blaine suggested after Kurt had changed back into his regular clothes.

"I can't. I made plans with Rachel, Tina and Mercedes," he told Blaine, lying only a little. The girls had asked him if he wanted to join them for a trip to the mall, but Kurt had told them he didn't know yet what his and Blaine's plans were. Now, it sounded like a good idea though, because he didn't want to go to the Lima Bean with Blaine, knowing he had a date with someone else there.

"Oh, maybe another time then?" Blaine asked, looking disappointed but Kurt couldn't care about that if he wanted to protect his own heart.

It was weird hanging out with a group of girls, but he had to admit he had fun with them. So much fun that he agreed to let them come over to his house so they could model the clothes they had bought for one another.

His mom's car wasn't in the driveway to his relief and he quickly led the three girls into his basement room, hoping they wouldn't judge him for the way he lived.

"I wish I had this much space," Mercedes gushed. "I hate having to share with my siblings."

Kurt breathed out a sigh of relief before he propped his mirror up on his table so the girls could look in it. He sat down on his bed, while the girls took turns showing off their purchases and he must have lost time during it, because suddenly it was close to six and his mom was coming down the stairs, a fake smile on her face.

"Kurt honey, you promised to help with dinner tonight. Your friends can come back another time," she told them sweetly. Tina, Rachel and Mercedes hugged him before saying goodbye to his mom who was still acting all nice and sweet, but Kurt knew she would drop the act as soon as his friends were gone.

Unfortunately, he wasn't wrong.

"Have you finally decided you want to be one of them?" she sneered while Kurt put a pot with water on the stove. "Well, at least you don't have to worry - you are already half way there."

Kurt tried to drown her out. If there was one thing he was certain of, was that he identified as male. So his mom could say whatever she wanted about it making him a girl for wanting to hang out with them, because he knew it wasn't true. She just couldn't accept that there were people who willingly spent time with him, but she wouldn't bring him down this time.

His mom stalked off to the living room when she realized her words weren't affecting him, the sound of the TV soon filling the house and Kurt started humming his new favorite song, 'Defying Gravity' under his breath. He had had an amazing day with the girls, not even thinking about Blaine and his date most of the time. Not even his mom would bring him down today.

November changed into early December and brought with it a surprise. He and Blaine were still keeping their distance outside of school, apart from having coffee before driving to work on Saturdays and reinstated Friday night dinners with the Hummels, his mother's words lodged in his brain. He didn't want to become that pathetic person who threw himself at other boys and he knew the only way to stop her from mocking him, was not to give her any new ammunition. His diary was now buried under a lose floorboard, but he had stopped writing in it anyway after his mom had discovered it.

It was a Tuesday, one of Blaine's football days, when the doorbell rang and Blaine's dad stood in front of the door, his hands buried in his thick winter coat.

"I heard you got a clean bill of health during your last checkup," he said after shaking his head to Kurt's invitation to come in. "So I thought we should start this before it starts snowing again and the roads will be harder to navigate."

Kurt looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face. "Oh, did Blaine not tell you?" Kurt shook his head.

"Tell me what? We haven't spent much time together lately," he added and did he just imagine it or did Burt look sad.

"That I have agreed to teach you how to drive. That is, if you want to."

Kurt's eyes widened in surprise, before he nodded enthusiastically. He had always felt bad for missing out on one of the quintessential teenage experiences when he had turned sixteen, but his parents had never allowed him to take driver's ed because it would have given him the freedom to go places if he got his hands on their car keys.

"Then grab a coat and let's go." Kurt eagerly followed Burt to his truck and got into the passenger seat. They drove for a while, Burt humming off key to some country song on the radio, until they reached the parking lot of an abandoned hardware store on the outskirts of Lima.

"I though we start out with automatic before I teach how to drive stick, because if you want to work in my garage you need to be able to do both," Burt explained as they switched seats before showing Kurt how to adjust his seat and the mirrors.

"Now but your right foot on the break – that's the big one and put the car into drive." Kurt followed the instructions and waited for further instructions.

"Now slowly get off the break and once they car is moving you can put your right foot on the gas – the right pedal – but carefully." Kurt followed the instructions again, but the car jerked forward when he put his foot on the gas too fast. Burt chuckled and Kurt felt his face heat up.

"Hey, don't worry. Blaine was a lot worse when I first taught him. I was regretting getting him a car for his sixteenth birthday for weeks because he wasn't the best driver in the beginning. Just try again."

Ten minutes later, Kurt was able to smoothly drive around the parking lot, but he still argued with Burt for a few moments when he told him to drive out onto the street. Burt finally relented, but told him they would do it again during the next few weeks because he wanted Kurt to be ready to take his driver's test as soon as possible.

"Things are going better now at home?" Burt asked when they were driving back to his house and Kurt mulled it over for a few seconds. Compared to how things had been before, things were better now. He didn't have bruises on his body anymore, because his dad was gone, and the glee club managed to protect him at school most of the time. And though his mom's words had sent him to his room crying or refusing to eat dinner a lot lately, it could be worse.

So he nodded, hoping Burt wouldn't keep asking. He felt Blaine's dad's eyes on him and he tried not to fidget in his seat, but eventually Burt nodded. "You know you are always welcome at our place if things are not okay at home, right?" he asked as they pulled into Kurt's driveway and Kurt nodded again. He had no doubt, the Hummels would take him in for a few days, but eventually social services would get involved and would take him away, if he ran away from home. And now that his mom had finally found a job she wasn't around that much anyway, so he would survive living at home till he turned eighteen in May.

The next two weeks, he and Burt met up multiple times until Kurt finally felt comfortable driving the truck on the street and managed to park it between two bins without running one of them over.

It was a Sunday evening, when they returned to the Hummels house, because Kurt had left one of his books there on Friday. Kurt had just left the house, waiting for Burt to drive him back home, when a black BMW pulled up front and Blaine and a boy he didn't know got out of the car. They both hugged each other before the other boy got back into his car and drove away.

Kurt's heart clenched painfully because apparently all his keeping the distance had not helped him get over his infatuation with Blaine. He quickly hopped into Burt's car, pretending he hadn't seen Blaine, and didn't react to Burt's raised eyebrows, because as much as Burt was the father he had always wanted to have, he was not ready to tell him he had the hots for his son.

**_Blaine_ **

"Did you have fun with David?" his dad asked once he returned from dropping off Kurt. He was sad he hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Kurt, but the other boy must not have seen him. Blaine nodded. "I forgot how much I missed hanging out with the Warblers and David has been a bit lost since Wes graduated."

"And what about that Jeremiah? You still seeing him?" Blaine frowned before he shook his head. Why couldn't his dad just let it go? "We didn't really click. All I could think about when we were having coffee, was how much more fun I usually have with Kurt. And don't tell me I told you so. You were right, it was stupid to try to distract myself with someone else. I promise I'll talk to Kurt soon. If he still wants to talk to me then," he added with a frown on his face.

He understood Kurt wanted to have other friends as well, and he actually enjoyed hanging out with some of the guys in Glee, but he was seeing Kurt less and less these day and it always felt like they were drifting further apart then growing closer.

He just wished his dad hadn't been right and he had already blown his chance.


	15. Chapter 14: All I want for Christmas...

Kurt

It was the week before Christmas at William McKinley High School and Kurt watched as couples exchanged presents in the hallways and the Glee couples sang flirty duets and shared kisses under the mistletoe Puck had hung in the choir room.

"Watching them makes me want to regret breaking up with Finn again," Rachel sighed from her place next to him. Apparently Finn not even defending his own girlfriend against Karofsky when he had slushies Kurt and her, had been the breaking point for the couple, and maybe it was mean to think that, but Kurt was happy not to be the only one who was lonely.

"Stay strong," he told her. "You said it yourself – you deserve better. You deserve a boyfriend who isn't afraid to stand up to bullies when they are trying to hurt you."

Mercedes sat down on his other side and sighed as well. "We'll just have to make it like our idols. They were solo too while they worked on their careers." Mercedes had confided in them during one of their trips to the mall that she had more than a crush on Sam, who ,unfortunately, was dating Quinn.

Santana and Brittany had each other, even if no one was supposed to know that, Puck always had a different girl hanging off his arm each week and Artie was dating a girl he met in the AV club. Mike and Tina were the couple dating the longest in the club and Blaine had mystery coffee guy now – well he had seen him getting out of a car once, but Blaine had never talked about him again with Kurt.

So not counting Finn, the three of them could form a lonely-hearts club. He didn't even want to know what he would feel like around Valentine's Day – not that he cared for holidays like that, thank you very much – if he already felt this lonely around Christmas.

Suddenly, the bane of his existence was right in front of him, a cheerful smile on his face. "Don't you just love Christmas?" Blaine asked excitedly and Kurt rolled his eyes. He most certainly hadn't liked Christmas in the past, because it had usually meant sitting home alone while his parents were out getting drunk and having to deal with his drunk father when he got home.

"Which reminds me, Kurt. Mr. Schue still hasn't done the set list for the Christmas concert and so I was wondering if you'd audition with me with 'Baby, it's cold outside'. I think our voices would work well together on this one."

Kurt blinked, because did Blaine seriously think a high school in Ohio would let two guys sing this song? "You should sing with Rachel. You sound amazing together and you know Mr. Schuester would never let us perform it."

Blaine shrugged. "Yeah, but you could still sing it with me. His loss if he doesn't pick us."

Kurt shook his head. It wasn't like he didn't want to sing with Blaine, but he had been doing so well lately on the Blaine front – keep telling yourself that, his heart interrupted – and singing with him would just take him back to square one.

"I have another song planned already," he informed Blaine, before sharing a look with Mercedes, hoping she would back him up.

"Yeah, Kurt and I are going to duet on 'All I want for Christmas' because we both wanted to sing it and it seems fair that way," she saved him and Kurt shot her a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Mercedes," he told her once Blaine was gone. "I told you you could have the song and I stand by it, but thanks for not telling Blaine. It would just suck if we gave a good performance and then are told no because we are two boys," he lied but Mercedes looked deep in thought for a moment.

"You know, it's actually not a bad idea – the duet. You haven't sung much since Sectionals but I thought you were good. Us divas have to stick together," she suggested and Kurt gave her a proper smile. Ever since their first trip to the mall, he and Mercedes were growing closer as well and now that he knew what it felt like to have friends, he was seriously regretting pushing people away for all those years.

"Come on," she grabbed his hand and pulled him down next to the piano and started marking the two different parts on the sheet music. Kurt nodded and Mercedes announced their song as soon as Mr. Schuester returned from an errand.

Kurt thought they sounded good together, but Mr. Schuester was frowning when they finished. "That was really nice, Kurt, Mercedes, but I think for the Christmas concert we should stay more traditional and have one person sing it. We do need donations for the club," he told them and Kurt sank back down onto his chair, trying not to show that the decision hurt him, while Mercedes kept arguing with Mr. Schuester, but to no avail.

He knew he shouldn't put any stock in what his mom was saying about him, but he was seriously starting to wonder if he was as good as he thought. True, he had a few lines during Sectionals, but now that he thought about it, everyone in the club had. Maybe Mr. Schuester just kept him around because he needed a twelfth member to be able to compete.

Rachel and Blaine performed a flawless rendition full of cutesy gestures and chasing one another around the choir room, and Kurt couldn't help but be jealous even though Rachel was a girl and he had suggested it. He wasn't surprised at all, when Mr. Schuester immediately agreed to let them sing together.

He needed some fresh air he realized, but before he could leave without anyone noticing him, Blaine was suddenly next to him. "You okay?" he asked as they walked toward the door, but before he could answer, Rachel called out to them and they both stopped in the doorway.

All of a sudden, the whole club was chanting, "kiss, kiss, kiss," and Kurt looked up to see that they were standing under the mistletoe. He slowly turned to face Blaine, who was frozen next to him, before he looked at Kurt and started to stutter.

"Uhm, I, I don't, ah, you know, it's not…" Kurt didn't give him the chance to finish what would have been without a doubt an elaborate excuse and ran away before anyone could stop him. Blaine could have at least kissed him on the cheek if he didn't want to kiss him instead of humiliating him in front of the whole club, he thought as he rounded a corner and ran straight into Dave fucking Karofsky. Merry Christmas to me, Kurt thought.

Blaine

Blaine unfroze seconds after Kurt ran away, cursing himself. Yes, he had wanted to kiss Kurt but if they ever got a first kiss together – and that was starting to become a big if – he didn't want it to happen under a mistletoe in front of all their friends. But now that he had seen Kurt's reaction he wasn't so sure anymore that he had done the right thing. Kurt probably thought he hated him, or found him deeply unattractive because he wouldn't even kiss him under a mistletoe.

"I swear Hobbit. If you don't run after him right now, I'm going to kick your ass back to the Shire," Santana suddenly growled and one look at her expression sent him running.

He hoped Kurt would run to the bleachers as he usually did and ran down the corridor leading to the back door. He froze again though the moment he rounded a corner, because Kurt was there, but he wasn't alone. He was pressed against a locker, and Blaine's stomach churned when he realized who it was who had him pressed against it.

Karofsky's lips were on Kurt's and he felt his heart break, because he was indeed too late. And it was probably his fault that Kurt thought he couldn't do any better than a closeted jock who bullied him.

Tears were welling up in his eyes and he turned around and raced to his own locker to grab his school bag, glad he didn't take it to the choir room with him, because no way was he going back there right now.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, he kept telling himself on the drive home, because there was no way Kurt would ever go near someone like Karofsky if he thought he had other options. "Fuck," he yelled when he reached a stop sign, and hit the steering wheel. He had never told Kurt that just coffee had stayed just coffee. If his dad had been right and Kurt liked him too, he had probably given up on him because he thought Blaine was dating someone else.

His dad's car was already in the driveway when Blaine arrived home and he ran inside and launched himself into his dad's arms.

"You were right," he sobbed. "I was too late." His dad's strong arms wrapped around him and Blaine pressed his face against his father's shoulders, turning his shirt damp with his tears.

"Did you talk to Kurt?" his dad finally asked and Blaine shook his head before telling his dad everything that had happened during and after Glee.

"Well maybe you are not too late then," his father said, when Blaine had finished, and Blaine looked up, afraid to get his hopes up, but still wanting to believe his dad was right.

"If Kurt is really just seeing this other boy because he thinks he has no other options, you need to let him know that he does. And even if he isn't interested anymore, someone has to talk to him, because we didn't get Kurt out of one abusive relationship just so he can get trapped in the next one," his dad added more seriously and Blaine paled because he hadn't even thought about it like that.

Kurt had endured his father's abuse because he had thought there was nothing he could do. What if he was doing the same with Karofsky. No, his dad was right. He had to talk to Kurt. He had already caused enough damage, because he had thought he was doing the right thing. He had just wanted to protect Kurt, but instead he had made things even worse. He would totally understand if Kurt would never want to talk to him again, after he confessed his feelings.

"So are you going to talk to him?" his dad interrupted his internal monologue. "You know, I'm going to invite him over for Christmas."

Blaine nodded, resolved to finally do the right thing. "New Year's Eve. I'm going to do it on New Year's Eve so we can both have a fresh start if he wants to," he proclaimed and his dad gave him a proud smile.

"I really hope it all works out well, kiddo."

Kurt

Kurt froze the moment he collided with the big jock, fear cursing through his veins. The hallway was empty and he had no idea what Karofsky was even doing there as the football season at McKinley was over for the year.

"What to you want?" he forced out. "I'm sure Blaine will be here any minute." At least he hoped Blaine would run after him. Karofsky chuckled darkly.

"I've seen the way you look at Hummel and I gotta tell you. Never gonna happen. You should just give in to me. I'm your best chance of ever getting any action." Kurt could feel the bile rise in his throat, because no matter how desperate he was, he would never touch Karofsky willingly.

"I'd rather die alone," he spat, "before I let you anywhere near me."

Suddenly his back was against a locker, his hands pinned to his sides. "Too bad you don't have much of a choice," he whispered into his Kurt's ear and Kurt fought the urge to vomit as the smell of stale burgers reached his nose. Before he could say anything Karofsky was on him again, but released him moments later, as the sound of someone running was echoing through the hallway.

Karofsky must have realized where they were, because he took a step back, before he gave Kurt a cocky smile. "Think about my offer. You can't do any better than me," he said before walking off, leaving Kurt a shaking mess.

Once he was sure Karofsky wasn't coming back he dashed into the next bathroom and started dry heaving over the toilet, but nothing came up because he had skipped lunch again.

He sank down on the floor and pulled his knees up to his chest trying to calm himself down. It didn't matter what Karofsky said, or his mom, even if the other boy were the last man on earth he wouldn't go there. He had suffered enough abuse in his life already, the last thing he needed was a boyfriend who bullied him in public because he was too scared to tell people the truth or just accept the truth. For all he cared, Karofsky could stay in the closet for the rest of his life as long as he stopped abusing other gay people.

The choir room was empty, but thankfully unlocked, when he finally went back to retrieve his bag, making his heart clench when he realized that Blaine hadn't come looking for him. The parking lot was nearly empty as well, apart from a few cars in the teacher's lot, and Kurt tugged his thin coat tighter around himself to protect himself from the icy wind, as he started his walk home.

He cursed himself for using the borrowed money for a nice outfit that had been pointless instead of on a warmer coat, as his whole body started to shake. The previous winter he had worn many layers underneath his coat to keep warm, but now that he was used to getting picked up and dropped off at home after school, he had forgone them and was now paying the prize.

The house was cold and empty when he finally reached it, snow stuck in his hair and on his coat, dampening the material and chilling him to the bone. He quickly shed his layers and stepped into his bathroom, only to realize that the water heater was acting up again, which meant his mom still hadn't gotten it fixed like she had promised she would.

He was already coughing by the time he was bundled up under his blankets, trying to get himself warm, and by the time he fell asleep a few hours later – his mother had never come home – his nose was clogged and he was having trouble breathing.

The next morning he couldn't deny it anymore that he was sick, because he felt too weak to even drag himself upstairs for a cup of tea. The clock told him it was already after nine, but so far his mom hadn't shown up. If she had even come home. He sank back onto the pillows hoping he would just be able to fall asleep again, but his throat was hurting him, and every time he coughed, his lungs hurt as well.

At some point he must have fallen back asleep, because he was suddenly shaken awake. His mother glared at him when he finally managed to lift his head.

"Why aren't you in school?" she asked. "Do you want me to get problems with social services?" Kurt sniffled. "I'm sick," he informed her between coughing, even though that should be obvious.

"Fine. I'm going over to Mandy's. Don't make a mess," she told him, before she left him alone to take care of himself. Kurt groaned because he could really use a few cold meds or just a simple cup of tea. At least, he wasn't really missing anything at school and because he wasn't featured in the Christmas concert either, he really had no reason to go back any time soon.

Around noon, he realized he really couldn't stay in his bed anymore without drinking some liquids and so he tightened his blankets around his shoulders and slowly made his way up the stairs. Unsurprisingly they didn't have any tea at home, so he forced himself to drink hot water with the lemons his mom used for her cocktails.

He was ready to fall asleep again on the couch when there was a knock on the front door and Kurt dragged himself over to open it. Rachel was standing outside, bundled up in a thick winter coat, and she immediately looked worried when she saw what he looked like.

Before he knew it she had ushered him back onto the couch and had fluffed his pillow, before she called some place that apparently delivered soup.

"You know I'm a vegan so I really have no idea how to make chicken noodle soup," she shrugged, "and that's what people in the movies always eat when they are sick."

"Not that I'm not grateful, but what are you doing here?" Kurt croaked when Rachel sat down next to him. "Neither Blaine nor you were in school today, so I drove to his house because I wanted to make sure he wasn't getting sick before the concert. When nobody answered I thought he might be with you, because of what happened yesterday."

Kurt shook his head, before tears started steaming down his face, which he quickly wiped away but Rachel had of course already seen.

"What's wrong Kurt?" she asked after handing him a tissue and taking his hand. She was probably going to think he was pathetic, but he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"I really like Blaine, Rachel. Like like him and I knew he doesn't feel the same, but it still hurt when he just left me standing there in front of everyone. I've tried so hard to get over him, but it's like my heart doesn't want to," he sobbed into her shoulder, letting her stroke his back while he cried.

"I'm so sorry Kurt. We didn't know this would happen. We thought-,"

"Rachel?" Kurt lifted his head from her shoulder and looked at her puzzled.

"We all thought Blaine liked you too and was just too shy or too stupid to make a move, so we made sure you'd end up under the mistletoe together so something would finally happen," she explained, looking incredibly guilty and Kurt paled, because had he really been that obvious? But hadn't she said they wanted Blaine to make a move?

"Why do you think he likes me? He made it incredibly clear when we went out together, that we are just friends and nothing more."

"It's just, the way he looks at you sometimes. Maybe he doesn't even know it himself yet, but we thought if we gave him a push in the right direction, he would finally realize that he is in love with you." Kurt gaped at her because there was no way Blaine could be in love with him. Rachel must be mistaken, because why would Blaine date someone else, if he was in love with him.

"He has boyfriend, Rachel. He is not in love with me, as much as it pains me to say it." Rachel shook her head.

"No, he doesn't. I've asked him when I forced him to go Christmas shopping with me. There's no reason for him to lie to me."

Kurt's head was spinning. Because if Blaine really liked him and didn't have a boyfriend, then why was he acting so weird around him when they were together now. And why did he constantly make sure, Kurt knew he was his best friend – emphasis on friend? Nothing made sense and he felt a headache coming on.

"I think I'm going to take another nap. Can you wake me when the soup arrives?" he asked her before closing his eyes, trying to push all thoughts of Blaine to the back of his mind.

He didn't go to school the next day either, but the cold medication Rachel had picked up for him while he was asleep was helping him breathe easier now, and climbing up the stairs didn't feel like climbing Mt. Everest anymore.

To his surprise, he had another visitor in the afternoon. Blaine's dad was standing on his doorstep, a Tupperware container in hand. "Rachel told Blaine you are sick. He wanted to come himself, but was busy rehearsing for the concert," Burt explained and Kurt stepped aside to let him in.

"Are you feeling any better?" Burt asked after Kurt had finished his soup and Kurt nodded. "Your mom not home?" Kurt shook his head. "She, ah, is at work." He had no idea if it was the truth or not, but it sounded better than she doesn't give a shit if I'm sick or not.

"So you could use some company then, right?" Burt asked before he sat down in the old and worn down armchair. Kurt leaned back against the couch and listened to Burt as he told him about some funny customers he had had the past couple of days and Kurt envisioned – not for the first time – how his life would have turned out if Burt had been his dad. It left him with a warm feeling inside.

Still he tensed when he heard his mom's key in the door. Burt stood up to greet her and she immediately put on a fake smile when she spotted him.

"Mrs. Anderson. I just came by to invite Kurt to Christmas dinner, if this is okay with you. You can join us as well if you'd like," he added and Kurt tried not to look too hopeful. He knew she wouldn't let him go if she thought he really wanted to.

"I guess that's okay. I was going to take Kurt with me to visit some friends, but I guess that works as well," his mom told Burt and Kurt had to look away so she wouldn't see him smiling.

Things might be weird between him and Blaine at the moment, but he'd rather be awkward around Blaine than be home alone for Christmas or worse having to spend it with his mom's drinking buddies.

"Great. Try to get healthy Kurt, and Blaine or I will come by to pick you up on Friday," Burt told him, before he pulled him into a brief hug. Kurt readied himself for the inevitable harsh words as soon as Burt left, but his mom just ignored him and went upstairs with a bottle of wine. Maybe even she couldn't avoid the Christmas spirit, Kurt thought before his eyelids started to drop again, and he fell asleep on the living room couch.

* * *

 

It was even more awkward than he had expected when he first arrived at Blaine's, because they hadn't seen each other since their not-kiss in the choir room. Neither of them made eye contact at first and Kurt was glad Blaine's dad made small talk with him, while they cooked dinner together.

Burt had assured him he had a delivery service on speed dial that would deliver on Christmas Eve as well, should they burn the food, but Kurt was confident that wouldn't be necessary. As long as he kept his focus on the food instead of Blaine who was hovering awkwardly, all should be well.

"I missed you during the concert," Blaine finally addressed him after they had eaten dinner in silence, in the colorfully decorated living room. Some of the ornaments on the tree, Kurt even remembered from when they were kids, and he was touched to see that one he had decorated was still there as well.

"I didn't feel well enough," Kurt lied because in reality he just hadn't wanted to watch the others sing when he wasn't allowed to.

"It's too bad. You and Mercedes sounded amazing and I wish Mr. Schuester wasn't such a dick. Sorry, dad," he quickly added but Burt waved him off. "I'm not too fond of the guy either. Some teacher," he muttered causing Kurt to chuckle.

"I'm sure you and Rachel sounded great together though," he told Blaine as a peace offering. Blaine suddenly found his empty plate quite interesting. "I still would have rather sung with you," he admitted and Kurt's heart skipped a beat. Was it too much to ask that Blaine made up his mind about what he wanted from him.

Their eyes locked for a moment before Burt clapped his hands. "Time for presents. Grab you coat, Kurt," he announced and Kurt raised an eyebrow in question before complying.

He had no idea why he was being led into the garage, but put his hand over his mouth in shock when he saw what was wrapped in a giant bow. A huge card was attached to the green Ford, and when Kurt took a step forward he could read that it said 'Merry Christmas, Kurt'.

Kurt turned to face the two beaming Hummels. "You got me a car? I, I can't accept that. It's too much," he stuttered.

"Yes you can. I actually got paid to get rid of it, but Blaine convinced me to let him rebuild it for you," Burt explained and Kurt's jaw dropped. Blaine was quick to explain though that his dad was exaggerating and that he had only done a little bit himself.

Before he knew it Kurt had launched himself first in Blaine's arms and then in Burt's. No one had ever done something so nice for him before and he couldn't believe this was happening to him.

"We figured you'd want to have something to drive with after you take your driving test next month," Blaine explained. "Though I hope you'll still want to drive to school with me," he added with a bashful smile. This guy really was the king of mixed signals, Kurt thought.

Still in shock, Kurt followed the Hummels back inside where he was forced to accept more gifts from the two men- gift cards for the mall to his delight – and Kurt felt mildly embarrassed by the few presents he had been able to afford himself.

Blaine was beaming at him though when he was putting on his Kurt Anderson original bow tie that Kurt had made for him, and Burt seemed happy about his new Mellencamp CD as well, so he knew he shouldn't fell too bad that he would never be able to repay them.

His mom's gift to him had been a reminder that he was to behave himself and not embarrass the family, so he really couldn't be more grateful that the Hummels had included him in their Christmas celebrations.

"You are welcome to stay the night," Burt offered when the clock struck eleven, but Kurt shook his head. He knew better than to stay out all night without his mother's permission and he didn't want her to ruin his Christmas by accusing him of doing all sorts of unsavory things if he didn't come home.

With a last look at the car that was his now, but would remain in the Hummels' garage until he got his license, he climbed into Blaine's Navigator and they quietly sang along with the songs on the radio as Blaine drove him home.

The house was dark when they arrived and Blaine walked him up to the front door though Kurt had protested and told him it wasn't necessary.

Suddenly, Blaine leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before he whispered, "Merry Christmas, Kurt."

Kurt kept staring after his car until it turned the corner, his gloved hand pressed against his right cheek.

Yes, it was definitely about time Blaine made up his mind, because this whole hot and cold behavior of his got harder to endure every day.


	16. Chapter 15: Fade to black

Kurt

"Mom?" Kurt asked a few days after Christmas. His mom raised an eyebrow in question and so Kurt soldiered on. "My friends Rachel and Mercedes have invited me to a sleepover and I was wondering if I could go. You are out of town till Thursday so I'd just be on my own anyway."

When asking something, Kurt had learned he had to make sure he didn't sound like he was accusing her of something and to make it sound like he was doing her a favor.

"I can have her parents give you a call, in case you are worried," he added, because he knew how much his mom hated to deal with other parents. Blaine's dad was enough for her already.

"Fine, but I expect the house to be clean when I get back," she finally agreed after probably having weighed the pros and cons.

"Thank you, mom," he told her, trying not to let his excitement show about his first sleepover since he was a kid, and that one hadn't ended well.

The next night found him in Rachel's bedroom, which to his horror was pink through and through. Mercedes was lounging on Rachel's bed as well, a bowl of popcorn on her lap.

"Alright white boy, spill. What's going on with you and Hummel?" she asked after she had swallowed a handful. Kurt blushed and toyed with Rachel's comforter.

"I for one believe Blaine's in love with him, but Kurt won't listen," Rachel interjected before Kurt could get a word in.

"Okay, maybe there's a tiny possibility that you are not wrong," he finally conceded and Rachel clapped excitedly. "Something happened over Christmas, didn't it? Oh, this is so romantic."

Kurt shook his head. "He didn't say anything per se, but he got me a car for Christmas, Rachel, a freaking car. I mean it's not new, but he rebuild it for me."

Both girls were staring at him before Rachel launched herself at him and hugged him tight. "I knew it," she exclaimed.

"Yeah, but wouldn't he have said anything, if you are right, Rachel?" Mercedes interrupted and Rachel glared at her.

"Well, there was something else," Kurt interjected before an argument could start. He let them stew for a few seconds before he elaborated.

"He kept staring at me a lot during the night and then he walked me up to my door and kissed my cheek." He looked at them, expecting them to be all excited for him, but both girls frowned.

"That's big. He’s never done that before, not even when we were kids. The hand holding yes, but never a kiss." He had filled the girls in about his and Blaine's history, because they had been curious to know why the new kid had managed to drag him out of his shell when Rachel had never succeeded.

"So are you going to tell him? I mean, I really like Blaine but I'm starting to think he is too stupid to make the first move," Rachel said after a pause.

Kurt nodded. He had been thinking about nothing but the way they had said good night after Christmas and had come to the same conclusion. Either Blaine liked him and was waiting for him to make a move, or he didn't and it would be awkward for a while, but he was hoping that ultimately they would find a way to get past it.

He needed to know what was what once and for all, because not knowing was killing him.

"New Year's Eve. Blaine said we should spend it together if nothing else comes up. I mean, wouldn't it be romantic if we shared our first kiss at midnight," Kurt fantasized, the girls looking like they were caught up in their own fantasies as well.

Rachel was the first to snap out of it and jumped of the bed to pick out a DVD. "I vote for 'Twilight'. Edward is so dreamy." Kurt immediately shook his head. "Absolutely not. Blaine made me watch a bit as part of my pop culture education and this is one of the stupidest things I've ever seen. No offense."

Mercedes shrugged, but Rachel looked offended.

"What about 'True Blood'?" Kurt suggested, ever thankful Blaine had introduced him to the TV series as well. "Trust me, the guys are so much hotter in there." Mercedes immediately nodded and Rachel huffed.

"Fine. I think my dads actually own the first season," she told them before leaving the room to hunt down the DVD.

Kurt leaned back against the headboard, reveling in the fact that so much had changed in the past few months. He was at a sleepover with friends, and no one had beaten him up for admitting he liked to watch something because of the hot guys in it.

Now all he had to do was get Blaine to prove things could work out for him as well.

"You know we expect you to tell us all the dirty details once you and Blaine get together, right?" Mercedes told him while they were waiting for the DVD player to load the next episode.

Kurt was sure there wouldn't be any dirty details, but he nodded nevertheless, because that was what friends did. They shared the important things happening in their lives.

Blaine

"So, whose the guy?" David asked when Blaine came back from the kitchen and handed Wes and David their sodas. Blaine blushed. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on, Blaine. We know you and you are definitely wearing your ' I have a crush' expression." Blaine sighed. So much for spending a relaxing evening with David and Wes, while he was in town, to clear his head from Kurt related thoughts.

"Please, tell me you are not still seeing that guy from the mall. He was way too old for you and that hair was just hideous." David shuddered and Blaine was certain his face was beet red by now.

"It's not him. It's Kurt," he confessed and David and Wes both stared at him. "The guy you were friends with when you were a child. The guy you are helping out at your new school?"

Blaine had told Wes and David about Kurt when they had found an old photo album of his in his dorm room at Dalton and had kept David up to date when he and Kurt had met again.

"Yes. It's complicated though. He comes from a really dysfunctional family and I didn't think he was ready for a relationship after some bad things happened, but now I think I might be losing him and I can't stand the thought."

Suddenly he was hit over the head with one of their throw pillows. "What was that for?"

"For being dumb. Be glad I don't have the gavel anymore to hit you with," Wes remarked before David took over.

"You can't dictate what other people are supposed to feel or not. It's not for you to decide if Kurt is ready to date someone, it's his decision. All you can do is let him know how you feel and hope for the best."

Blaine felt like he was talking to his dad again, who had told him the exact same thing – more than once.

"I know, I know. And I will tell him. New Year's."

Wes and David exchanged a look. "You should bring him to the party. And yes you are required to attend. Once a Warbler always a Warbler."

Blaine sighed. "But what if he says no. Then we'll be stuck together for a whole night with no way to escape."

"Then tell him to meet you before. Tell him how you feel. If he reciprocates, you have someone to make out with during the party and if he doesn't – just get wasted like every other person when they deal with heart break."

Blaine looked up and stared at Wes. Wes had always been the voice of reason in the Warblers. Making sure parties didn't get out of hand.

"What?" Wes shrugged. "I'm in college now. Things change."

Blaine mulled it over, because Wes did have a point. He could meet Kurt earlier at the Lima Bean and see how things went from there.

"Alright," he told them and Wes and David fist-bumped. Blaine rolled his eyes. He never got why his friends were so interested in his non-existent dating life.

"And don't forget to tell us everything as soon as you're done," the two boys told him and Blaine nodded. "Of course, I will."

Kurt

Kurt tried not to let his nerves get the better of him when the last day of December had finally arrived. Blaine had asked if he would be allowed to come to a party with him, and had told him he wanted to meet Kurt at the Lima Bean around noon because he needed to tell him something.

Kurt was sure he could get his mom to let him go somehow, but he hadn't asked yet because Blaine hadn't given him any details. He knew he had to seize his chance to confess his feelings during their noon meeting in case they wouldn't be able to spend New Year's Eve together.

He checked his reflection over in the mirror one last time. He was wearing his tight black jeans, his best pair of shoes and Blaine's cardigan over a shirt he had bought during his last trip to the mall with the girls. It was just too bad no one had had time yet to drive him to the mall so he could buy himself a new coat, he thought as he was eyeing the ratty old coat he owned critically. But Blaine had said things like that didn't matter to him and it wasn't like he had to wear it the whole time they were in the coffee shop.

His hair at least somehow resembled the coif Stefan had styled it into at the hairdressers and Kurt thought he was looking okay. Still not attractive in his own eyes, but hopefully nice enough so that Blaine wouldn't run away screaming.

It was snowing lightly outside and Kurt cursed when he saw how late it was already. He would never be able to make it on time if he walked there and he couldn't take the bus either because he had only enough money left for two cups of the rather expensive Lima Bean coffee, and he was set on paying this time.

Taking a deep breath, he walked upstairs, hoping his mom was still in the good mood she had been in for the past few days.

"Mom. Blaine and I are supposed to meet for coffee and I was wondering if you could drive me there. I promise to pay you back for the gas."

His mom eyed him critically before she shrugged. "You are lucky I need to head to the store anyway," she told him before she grabbed her keys.

Kurt couldn't wait for the moment he would take his driving test and would be able to drive himself wherever he wanted to go in his own car.

The first few minutes in the car were silent apart from his mom cursing other drivers. Kurt was pondering if he should tell her what was going on because if he and Blaine became boyfriends she would find out eventually anyway. She had been nicer those past few days and he was hoping that maybe she had made a few New Year's resolutions as well or maybe it had something to do with his dad's court date that was coming up in January.

"I'm going to tell Blaine about how I feel," he blurted out before he could stop himself. He flinched when his mom started to laugh.

"Don't come crying to me when he laughs in your face. I told you guys like him don't go for guys like you, but if you want to make a fool out of yourself, be my guest. Maybe it's finally going to teach you a lesson and you start acting like a normal person."

Kurt swallowed hard. He could not let her get to him now that he had made up his mind. He had dealt with far worse, so he would be able to handle getting rejected by Blaine, right?

Blaine

Blaine was nervously playing with his napkin as he was waiting for Kurt to arrive. He had come in half an hour early, too anxious to sit at home any longer and listen to another pep talk from his dad.

At least there would be alcohol at the party later in case things didn't work out and Kurt didn't want him.

His mind was all over the place while he was trying to come up with the perfect speech for Kurt. 'You are the best thing that has ever happened to me' - too cheesy. 'You might think that I saved you, but you saved me' – did that even make sense? 'You move me Kurt' – yeah, no. Why was this so hard? It would be so much easier if he could just profess his feelings through song, but he didn't think Kurt would appreciate it if he serenaded him in a coffee shop in the middle of homophobic Lima.

God, he would probably have to wing it, and that was not something he was good at. Should he take Kurt's hand first and see how he reacted? Or should he just come out and say it. Or should he tell Kurt, he deserved better than Karofsky and he hoped he was the better option if Kurt was still, or was ever interested? That he had liked him for a while now but had been too stupid to admit it? There were so many things he could say, but what was the right thing?

"Well, if it isn't Sex on a stick Blaine Warbler," a voice suddenly drawled next to him, and Blaine was pulled out of his Kurt related freak out.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as he stood up to face Sebastian fucking Smythe, who for all Blaine knew should still be in a boarding school in France.

"It's great to see you too, baby," Sebastian leered and draped an arm over Blaine's shoulder, holding him close. Blaine tried to push him away, but he also didn't want to cause a scene, so he just hoped Sebastian would lose interest if Blaine didn't react.

"I'm meeting someone here, Sebastian. So could you please just leave," he apparently was not above begging though.

"Hmm. I hope he is as yummy as you. It's been a while since I had a threesome."

Blaine shuddered, but apparently Sebastian thought it was good shudder as he pressed himself even closer to Blaine and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I bet I could make you both scream my name."

Blaine hadn't thought it was possible, but apparently France had turned Sebastian into even more of a tool.

"I'm not interested," he reminded Sebastian, but the other boy just trailed his hand up his arm and Blaine looked around frantically, but apparently no one had noticed his predicament.

"I didn't buy the innocent act back then and I most certainly don't buy it now. Not that I think the bashful schoolboy act isn'y hot, but we both know you are going to give in eventually.

Blaine tried to push Sebastian away again, because the last thing he needed was Kurt seeing Sebastian all over him. But some things never work out as planned, do they?

Kurt

Kurt got out of his mother's car as quickly as he could once they reached the Lima Bean and hurried across the street, narrowly missing getting hit by a car in his haste to get away from her.

As he looked through the window he immediately spotted Blaine – but he wasn't alone. A tall guy with a slimey expression on his face had his arm around Blaine's shoulder, his face pressed closed to Blaine's.

Kurt's heart sank. Was that why Blaine had invited him over? To introduce him to his new boyfriend before the party. Had he made it all up in his head? And why, oh, why had he listened to Rachel whose track record with relationships wasn't the best either.

He was ready to run away, but what good would it do him? If Blaine was dating this guy he couldn't avoid him forever, so better get it over with.

He held his head high and walked into the Lima Bean, approaching the boy who had his hands all over Blaine, who looked mildly panicked when he saw Kurt. He could feel the other boy's eyes all over him, and he suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious in his worn down secondhand coat.

"You know Blaine, I think I'll pass on the threesome. He looks like something you have scraped off the bottom of a dumpster."

Kurt flinched and Blaine suddenly looked incredibly guilty. Kurt had never felt so betrayed by someone he thought he could trust. He couldn't believe that Blaine had told the guy he only met recently about what was happening to Kurt at his school. Had they made fun of him because of it? He had thought Blaine was better than that but apparently he had been wrong.

Tears were welling up in his eyes, and Kurt whirled around, ready to leave before he could be humiliated even further.

"Kurt, wait! Please!" Blaine called out to him and he was ready to stop and listen to Blaine when he heard what meerkat face said next.

"Let him go sexy. We are going to have so much fun without him."

Kurt ran. Ran out into the parking lot, dodging a car, while tears were streaming down his face. A bus stopping close to his house rounded the corner and Kurt sprinted to the bus stop, basically throwing a dollar at the driver as he jumped in.

He could see Blaine running toward the bus, but luckily it drove off before Blaine could reach it.

Kurt couldn't believe how stupid he had been. He had thought that Blaine wasn't seeing anyone because he hadn't mentioned coffee guy anymore and because Rachel had said Blaine had told her he didn't have a boyfriend, but they had obviously been wrong. It was crystal clear now why Blaine had not wanted to kiss him under the mistletoe.

God, and he had made such a big deal out of a kiss on the cheek, when for Blaine it had probably been just a friendly gesture.

Maybe Karofsky was right. Maybe he should just give in, because what were the chances that someone would ever like him in the future?

Tears were still streaming down his face when he walked inside the house, straight into his mom, who took one look at him before she smirked. "Told you so. Not even a fag would want someone like you."

Something snapped inside him that moment, and he rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a nearly full bottle of Tequila. It had worked for his parents for years, drinking away their problems, so why shouldn't it work for him? After all, he was just a Lima Loser just like them.

"I hope you drink yourself to death!" his mom yelled after him as he stumbled down the stairs to his room trying to wrestle the bottle open. His mirror was mocking him and Kurt threw a book against it in his rage and watched in satisfaction as it shattered into tiny pieces.

The first sip of the strong liquid burned down his throat but Kurt kept drinking, hoping to numb the pain. When nothing changed and he still felt like a worthless waste of space, he popped open the container containing the rest of the pain meds from his injured ribs and swallowed them down with the Tequila.

He was a shaking and sobbing mess, but it didn't matter, because he didn't matter to other people either. If he did Blaine wouldn't have allowed his boyfriend to make fun of him, to humiliate him.

The alcohol was starting to show his effect as Kurt was starting to feel dizzy and the room started to spin. Suddenly he wasn't feeling so good anymore and he sat down on the floor, clutching his knees to his chest.

Someone was pounding against the front door but Kurt couldn't make himself move and before he could even lift his head, everything went black.


	17. Chapter 16: Carpe Diem

Blaine

Now, Blaine Hummel was not a violent person. He didn't think punching people was the solution to a problem and still, he didn't even hesitate for a second before he turned around and his fist connected with Sebastian's jaw causing the other boy to stumble and upend the table with Blaine's coffee still on it. There were some gasps behind him, and someone was calling for the manager, while his cup of coffee was slowly rolling toward Sebastian who was clutching his face on the floor.

Blaine didn't stay to see if the coffee landed on Sebastian or not, but pushed open the door and tried to catch up with Kurt who was running down the street ahead of him. He wasn't too far ahead though and Blaine was sure he could catch up with him even though he was freezing without his coat on, but Kurt suddenly got onto a bus and was gone before Blaine could reach the bus stop.

"Fuck," Blaine yelled as he kicked the trashcan at the bus stop. He needed to talk to Kurt. Needed to explain, that it wasn't what he thought. God, he hated Sebastian right now and he hated himself for always trying to please people and not wanting to draw attention to uncomfortable situations. All he wanted was to go back inside and punch Sebastian again, but it wouldn't help him with Kurt either. No, he needed to get back inside, grab his bag and drive over to Kurt's house pronto, so he could convince Kurt that he had had a different lunch meeting planned for them.

Sebastian was no where to be seen when Blaine got back inside, but a middle aged woman was standing next to his table, a pin on her shirt identifying her as the manager. Blaine put on his most charming smile and approached her.

"I'm really sorry for my behavior, I shouldn't have done that in here," he told her, looking contrite and the scowl on the woman's face disappeared. "Just be glad one of the witnesses told your friend he better not press charges unless he wants to be charged with sexual harassment. Now clean up the mess you made and then I don't want to see you back here for at least a few weeks."

Blaine wanted to argue and tell her he really didn't have time for that, but one look at the woman's face was enough for Blaine to accept a mop and start wiping the floor. It probably only took him ten minutes to take care of the mess he had made with Sebastian, but it felt like hours had passed since Kurt had run out on him. A quick look at his phone told him though, that it was only half past twelve and it had only be about twenty minutes since Kurt had disappeared.

He grabbed his car keys as soon as he was allowed to leave the Lima Bean and finally got to drive over to Kurt's house. It wasn't important anymore that he prepare some speech to give to Kurt, all he wanted was a chance to explain and apologize for Sebastian's behavior.

Blaine did a lot of things that day that weren't typical for him. Instead of ringing the doorbell like he had in the past, he started pounding his fist against the front door until the door finally swung open.

"What do you want?" Kurt's mom glared at him and Blaine rushed to explain. "I need to talk to Kurt. Please, I need to tell him something. It's important that I talk to him now."

Kurt's mom kept glaring at him and Blaine shuddered. "Kurt doesn't need your charity. So get the hell out of here, one fag in the house is enough."

Blaine tried to ignore the slur and started to beg her again to let him in. "He's probably busy right now anyway. Ran to his room with some Tequila a while ago," she told him before slamming the door in his face.

But Kurt didn't drink, Blaine thought. Kurt didn't like alcohol because of his parents. He started ringing the doorbell this time, but the door stayed closed and so Blaine decided to check if Kurt was in his room. He didn't want to be the reason Kurt started to drink and had to stop him if possible.

He crouched down when he reached the side of the house where a window to the basement was, but froze in shock for a second when he looked through the window. Kurt was lying on the floor, a half full bottle of tequila and the pain meds they had gotten him for his ribs next to him.

Panicked, he looked around before he dug a stone out of the snow and threw it against the window as hard as he could, hoping it wouldn't hit Kurt if it went through. The noise was deafening for a moment and Blaine hoped a neighbor might have heard because he could really use some help right now.

He quickly took off his coat and started to climb through the window, hissing when the glass cut his arms on his way down. He was small, but the window was even smaller and so it was a tight squeeze that left him bleeding when he finally reached the floor. Ignoring his own injuries, he hurried over to Kurt, crouched down next to him and started to shake him, before he remembered his phone, pulled it out of his pocket and dialed 911, frantically explaining what was going on while trying to rouse Kurt.

"Shit, Kurt. What did you do? You can’t do this to yourself, to us now. Not when I thought things were finally getting better. I'm so sorry, I didn't defend you better. This is all my fault," he sobbed while he continued to shake Kurt. "Please Kurt. You have to wake up. I can't lose you now when I think I'm falling in love with you," he confessed while wiping his tears from his face.

"Me too," a weak voice answered and Blaine nearly dropped Kurt's head in shock.

"Kurt, Kurt!" Blaine touched his cheek, hoping Kurt would speak again, but he must have lost consciousness once more.

Kurt's pulse was slow and his breathing flat, but at least he was still alive and Blaine was praying for the paramedics to just show up and take care of Kurt, because he was seriously in over his head and had no idea what he was supposed to do in this situation. All he wanted was for Kurt to wake up and smile at him again. He would never be able to live with himself if something happened to Kurt because of his actions.

Something was happening upstairs though, a few minutes later that felt like hours had gone by while Blaine waited with an unconscious Kurt in his arms. Suddenly the door to the basement burst open and two out of breath paramedics rushed down the stairs, one of them with a cut on her face, pushing Blaine aside when they reached Kurt.

"What did he take?" Blaine pointed to the pill container still lying on the floor. "Can you guess how many?" Blaine swallowed.

"I don't think he had many left," he answered hoping it was the right answer. "Did you try to get him to throw them back up?" the woman asked next and Blaine shook his head. "He wasn't conscious when I found him," he whispered.

Meanwhile the other paramedic had put Kurt on a stretcher and was connecting his arm to an IV Blaine remembered from the last time.

"We need to get him to the hospital fast before his vitals drop," the younger of the two told Blaine who jumped up immediately, before he swayed for a moment. He was bleeding more than he had realized and the blood loss was making him dizzy.

Before he knew it he was sitting next to Kurt in the ambulance, getting the first of his cuts treated. He already knew he would have to get stitches once they reached the hospital, but he was not ready to leave Kurt's side until he absolutely had to. When the young woman was done with him, he pulled out his phone with shaking hands and sent a quick text to his dad, telling him to meet them at the hospital.

How had things managed to go so wrong in the course of an hour, he kept asking himself over and over again, but only came up with one answer. He had screwed up again. Instead of having Kurt in his arms after they shared their feelings, he was accompanying Kurt to the hospital yet again. And it didn't matter what anyone would say. It was all his fault.

Kurt

When Kurt opened his eyes, his head was pounding, his mouth was dry and his stomach was in knots. He had never had a hangover before, but he suspected that was what he was dealing with. One look around though, told him he was not in his room and suddenly it all came back to him. He had passed out and then Blaine had been there and had said… Had that been real or just a dream his subconscious had conjured up?

"Kurt? Do you know where you are?" a woman in a nurse's outfit suddenly asked him. He hadn't seen her when he had first looked around, but he recognized her as Finn's mom from the one time she and Finn had showed up at Burt's shop when Kurt was working.

Kurt nodded and immediately groaned because it didn't help with the pounding in his head. His room looked different though than the last time he had been in the hospital. There were restraints on his bed and Kurt looked at Finn's mom in alarm.

"Mrs. Hudson? Where am I exactly?" he asked, suddenly worried. Mrs. Hudson sighed. "You have been placed on seventy-two hours suicide watch. This is the psych ward."

Kurt swallowed, because psych ward? He hadn't tried to kill himself, he had just wanted to numb the pain for a bit, but apparently one shouldn't mix prescription pills with strong alcohol. He told Mrs. Hudson as much, but she shook her head.

"I'm sorry Kurt, but until you speak to a psychiatrist you will have to stay here."

Kurt didn't want to be here. He wanted Blaine. If Blaine had really been at his house, it had to mean that he cared. But then, how else would he have ended up in the hospital if Blaine hadn't found him? He doubted his mom had come into his room and called an ambulance.

"Where's Blaine? I want to see him," he pleaded but Finn's mom shook her head again.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible until you are transferred to another floor, but I'll let him know that you were asking for him."

God, that was not how Kurt had envisioned his day to go. He had wanted to confess his feelings to Blaine and then they would have shared a romantic first kiss just before the New Year started.

"Can I talk to a doctor now, please? I don't want to be stuck in here for New Year's Eve." He tried to sit up and after a moment of dizziness his body settled and Kurt exhaled slowly as he made eye contact with Mrs. Hudson.

"I'm not sure if I can find someone so fast Kurt. There are a lot of depressed people out there today," she replied and Kurt could already see himself stuck in his hospital room for days.

"But I'll see what I can do for you. It's only three now, so if you can convince a doctor to transfer you, your friend might still get to see you before visiting hours end."

Kurt gave her a small smile before he sank back onto his pillow, hoping they were giving him some meds for the pain.

"What happened after Blaine-, after I passed out?" he asked before Finn's mom left.

"We had to pump your stomach when you got here and we are making sure right now that you stay hydrated and your vitals stay strong," she explained and Kurt nodded, immediately groaning in pain again.

"Thank you," he told her when she turned to leave and Mrs. Hudson smiled at him. "I hope everything works out for you, Kurt," she told him before she left the room and Kurt closed his eyes, hoping he would just fall asleep and wake up again without a headache.

If watching his parents hadn't been enough to convince him, he was certain now. He was never going to drink again.

Blaine

By the time his dad arrived at the hospital, Blaine's cut had been taken care of and Blaine was pacing the hallway, anxious to hear any news. No one had been telling him anything so far because he was a minor and so he couldn't wait for his dad to arrive.

He threw himself into his dad's arms as soon as he was close and started crying onto his dad's shoulder, telling him what was going on between sobs. Once he had calmed down a bit, his dad guided him over to a chair before hunting down a nurse for an update on Kurt.

Finally he returned, a small smile on his face. "I ran into the lady that came by the shop a few weeks ago with the boy from the football team. Apparently she works here. Kurt is awake and fine now, he has been asking for you, but we won't be allowed to see him until he gets transferred to a regular floor," his dad explained and Blaine frowned.

"A regular floor?" His dad sighed. "Kurt's in the psych ward because they think he tried to kill himself."

Blaine immediately jumped up and shook his head. "No, Kurt wouldn't do that." Before he could say anything else, Mrs. Hoffs approached them.

"Mr. Hummel, I was hoping to see you here. The police was called to Kurt's house and I was hoping you could fill me in on what has happened." Blaine sat back down on his chair and quickly explained how Kurt had run away from him in tears, his mom wouldn't let him in once he got to the house and how he had seen Kurt on the floor and had climbed in through the window.

"Can we take Kurt home with us after he is released?" he asked once he had finished his story. "That depends on Kurt's mental state," Mrs. Hoffs answered and Blaine jumped up again.

"He didn't try to kill himself, I'm sure. He was upset and did something stupid, but I'm sure that was all, because don't people usually leave notes?"

He couldn't handle Kurt potentially doing what everyone was suggesting because he would be the one to blame for that.

"Well, like I said. If the doctor says Kurt can be released you can take him home with you. Most of the necessary paperwork has been dealt with already, so it would just be a matter of making it official. After Mrs. Anderson's behavior, I will not let Kurt go back to her until everything is sorted out," she assured them, and Blaine released the breath he had been holding.

He and his dad sat down next to each other, while Mrs. Hoffs walked away to make a couple of calls and informed the nurse stuff that the Hummels were supposed to be treated as next of kin.

"It's going to be okay. You'll see," his dad told him as Blaine put his head on his dad's shoulder.

He just hoped his dad would be right this time as well.

Kurt

Kurt was woken from his slumber by the sound of the door opening and a middle aged woman in a white coat stepped into the room.

"Hi Kurt, I'm doctor Mayfield. I was told you'd rather get out of here sooner than later." Kurt nodded.

"I didn't try to kill myself," he immediately told the doctor who nodded and sat down in the chair next to his bed.

"Can you tell me why you are here? Why you did what you did?"

The last thing he wanted was for the doctor to think he was a stupid teenager who tried to commit suicide over heartbreak, but he also knew he had to open up to her if he wanted to get transferred.

"You'll think it's stupid," he sighed but the doctor shook her head.

"Whatever it was that made you upset was something that mattered to you, so it can never be stupid."

Kurt sat in silence for a moment to collect his thoughts. "I've been told my whole life that I'm worthless, that I will never be good enough, that I'm wrong, that I shouldn’t even exist. I've also watched my parents drink their lives away for years. Today, I wanted to put myself out there, take a risk, just to learn that everything I've been told about myself was true. So I snapped. I thought that if it works for my parents, why shouldn't it work for me. But the alcohol didn't help, so I figured the pain meds might. It was stupid to think that you could mend a broken heart with normal medicine," he finally said, not daring to look at the doctor.

"And do you believe that? That you are worthless, that you shouldn't exist?" Doctor Mayfield asked after a beat. Kurt shook his head before his shoulders slumped. "Yes, no. I don't know. I used to think that everything would be okay if I just got through a few more years, but lately it's been getting harder to think that way."

The doctor nodded and wrote something down in her notebook and Kurt desperately wanted to know what she was saying about him. "Who is it that makes you feel worthless?"

Who wasn't Kurt thought. "Classmates, people on the street, but mostly my mom, but it's just words, right? After what has happened with my dad, it shouldn't get to me like that."

"You know Kurt. That's not true. You might think it's just words, but emotional abuse is just as bad as physical abuse. It's just harder to detect the scars it leaves behind. And it sounds like it has left behind quite a few."

Kurt felt a tear trickle down his face. "I just don't understand why they wouldn't love me. Why she would say those things to me. What have I ever done wrong?" Tears kept coming but Kurt didn't care. He had never had any answers for those questions, but maybe the psychiatrist had.

"There is nothing wrong with you Kurt. Sometimes, when people can't deal with their own lives, they take it out on other people. It gives them power over someone else's life that they don't have over their own. They are unhappy themselves so they don't want anyone else to be happy either. It's hard to tell not knowing your parents, but what you need to remember is that you are the victim here. It's not something you have done wrong, it's something they have done wrong."

It was hard to accept that, harder than trying to find the blame within his actions and behavior because if he didn't cause his parent's behavior toward him, how was he supposed to change things. It would be easier if the problem was just that he was a bad kid, or had traits that needed to be changed in order to earn his parents' love.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Just, just that I don't know how to earn their love when there is apparently nothing I can change."

"A parent’s job is to love their child, Kurt. It's not a contract where you have to fulfill certain terms to get rewarded in the end."

Rationally, Kurt knew all that. He saw it every time he was over at Blaine's house. But fighting for his parents' acceptance or changing things about himself and hiding things to avoid getting hurt was the only thing he had ever experienced. He didn't have another frame of reference in his own life and for year's he didn't have one outside of his life either.

His parents had made sure he was lonely, isolated from anyone else, so he wouldn't even see what other people's lives were like.

Kurt didn't know how long they had sat in silence while Kurt was mulling things over. He knew the psychiatrist wasn't lying to him, but it was still hard to be told to forget everything he had ever been told and to accept that it had all been lies, designed to make him feel bad about himself because his parents couldn't deal with their own miserable lives.

"If you are right, then why do the kids at school hate me so much?" he finally asked, thinking about the hateful things people had said about him in school.

"High school is difficult for many people. We don't like people who are different, who are special because they threaten the status quo. Maybe they are jealous because they know they will have reached their peak once they graduate. Maybe they are too obsessed with status. Maybe we have to blame society for putting athletic students on a pedestal and telling us only they are important. I wish it were only a single thing, because it would make it so much easier for us to deal with the problem. What you need to remember is that high school will end and the things that people didn't like about you, might as well be things that will make you succeed in the future. What I need to know is if you are willing to fight for it. That I can release you and don't have to worry about you ending up in here again."

"I do want to get out of Lima. So bad, trust me. That was always the plan and still is. It might be vindictive but one day I want to come back to this town and the guy who tortured me since elementary school will ask me if I want fries with my burger. That he will be the one who is miserable, because he made my life miserable for so many years."

"It's only human, Kurt, to think that," doctor Mayfield assured him. "Now, my file tells me that the Hummel family has told Social Services they want to take you in. How do you feel about that?"

Kurt's head snapped up. "They have?" he whispered, not wanting to jinx anything.

"Yes, I believe right after you were hospitalized the last time." Kurt couldn't believe it. They wanted him to stay with them permanently, not just for a few days like he had always thought.

"There's nothing I would like more in my life," he told her honestly. "I kept hoping my mom would change, would be nicer after my dad got arrested, but instead she got worse and I understand now that things wouldn't have changed if this hadn't happened. And that I might have been driven to actually do something, if I had stayed with her any longer."

He had always prided himself in never actually attempting it, but he had to admit to himself that things had been getting to him lately.

"I'm glad to hear that Kurt. You need people in your life who let you know you are a good person. I think that will help a lot. But I still want you to keep seeing someone for a while at least once a week. I'm happy to put things into perspective for you, but I think it's important you keep talking to a professional so you can move past the abuse you have been subjected to. Because it is one thing to accept what I am saying, but another to actually believe it and I can see you are struggling with that. I do however believe you when you tell me you didn't intend to harm yourself, so I will order your transfer to another floor. I'll leave a list with recommended therapists in the area with Mr. Hummel."

Kurt gave her a weak smile. He couldn't wait to get out of the hospital, but now that he had started talking, he somehow didn't want to stop. He had always balked at the idea of having to talk to therapist because he thought he could deal with everything on his own, but doctor Mayfield was right, he needed someone who could help him sort through the things that were going through his head.

"Thank you. Not for letting me go, but for telling me all that. I know you were only sent to determine whether I was suicidal or not, so thank you for taking the time and talking to me."

The doctor stood up and squeezed his hand. "Take care, Kurt. I really hope I will never see you here again, but know that if you ever feel like you can't move forward there are people who want to help you. Happy New Year, Kurt."

"Wait, what time is it?" he called after the doctor, who stopped and turned. "It's nearly nine. I'll see to it that you get transferred as soon as possible so you can watch the celebrations on TV."

Kurt sank back against his pillows staring at the wall. It was nine. It was too late for Blaine to visit him now. He didn't want to bring his baggage with him into the New Year, but apparently the universe had other plans. The first day of the rest of his life would have to wait another day.

Blaine

It had been hours since they had last gotten an update and Blaine was going crazy at the hospital, because what if the doctors thought Kurt was crazy and wouldn't let him go. Kurt had suffered enough and he and his dad both wanted to just be able to take Kurt home with them.

In that moment it didn't matter if they ever ended up as more than friends or not, right now he just wanted Kurt to be safe and happy. He had caused Kurt to run away crying and he never wanted to see that expression on Kurt's face again.

"Mr. Hummel?" a middle aged woman suddenly asked and Blaine stood when his dad did the same.

"I'm doctor Mayfield. I'm a psychiatrist here at the hospital. I just spent some time with Kurt and wanted to give you an update as social services has informed me that you are responsible for Kurt at the moment."

His dad nodded and Blaine waited with baited breath for the verdict. "I have agreed to have Kurt transferred to another floor as I think he is stable enough to be released tomorrow. Kurt and I have agreed that it would be best if he kept seeing a therapist for a while, so here is a list of people I would recommend for Kurt's case," the doctor added and handed his dad a sheet of paper.

"Can we see him now?" Blaine asked eagerly, because he needed to see it with his own eyes that Kurt was okay. The doctor shook her head though.

"Unfortunately visiting hours have ended an hour ago, but you can ask downstairs which room they are putting him in and visit him first thing in the morning."

His dad shook the doctor's hand while Blaine sat down in his chair.

"You heard her kiddo. Let's go. There's nothing we can do tonight so you might as well watch the ball drop with your old man."

Blaine dropped his head into his hands. He didn't want to leave Kurt. He had promised they would celebrate together if possible and he wasn't ready to leave until he had done his best to make that happen.

"Can I stay? Please dad. I just need to make sure he is okay." His dad sighed but finally nodded. "You call me when you are ready to leave. Doesn't matter how late it is, you hear me?"

Blaine nodded and let his dad pull him into a tight hug. "A little tip from Carole." Blaine looked puzzled and his dad quickly added. "Mrs. Hudson. Apparently the nurses love to watch TV together days like this," he winked and Blaine smiled as he watched his dad walk away.

He spent the next two hours in the hospital cafeteria after having asked for Kurt's room number before he went upstairs again to check if the coast was clear already. A bored looking nurse was still manning the nurse's station and Blaine sat down around the corner, to keep an eye on her.

Finally, like Finn's mom had predicted, she got up and walked into an adjourning room from which laughter was already emanating. He felt like a spy on a mission as he ducked and rushed past the station into the corridor leading to Kurt's room.

He just hoped there were no other patients in Kurt's room that would call for the nurses as soon as they saw him.

He opened the door as quietly as possible, but to his relief there was only one bed occupied. The television was on, showing the masses on Times Square, Kurt's eyes fixed on it. Sometimes Blaine forgot, that Kurt had never seen the ball drop on TV before and he waited a moment before announcing his presence, watching Kurt as he looked in awe.

Finally, he pushed the door further open, and the light from the hallway illuminated the otherwise dark room. Kurt's head turned and then his eyes widened before his face lit up. Blaine was beyond relieved that Kurt seemed to want to see him.

He quietly closed the door behind him before he rushed over to Kurt's bed and pulled the other boy into a hug, mindful of the IV still connected to Kurt.

"I'm so glad you are okay. I was so worried when I couldn't wake you up," he whispered against Kurt's shoulder and he could feel Kurt shaking.

"I'm sorry too, Blaine," Kurt sobbed. "I didn't mean to do that, I promise." Blaine gently stroked Kurt's back to get him to calm down.

"I know. I know. I never thought you did."

Suddenly Kurt frowned. "Are you even allowed to be here?" Blaine shook his head.

"I snuck in," he told Kurt proudly before his expression sobered. "I couldn't leave before I saw that you were okay with my own eyes. I would have never been able to forgive myself, if you hadn't be okay because of what that douchebag said to you." Just thinking of Sebastian made him ball his hands into fists but he quickly relaxed them when he realized he was clutching Kurt's hospital gown in one of his fists.

"Sorry," he mumbled. Kurt was fiddling with his blanket when Blaine finally released him before he spoke.

"So that wasn't your boyfriend?" he asked in a small voice. Blaine shuddered.

"God, no. He was someone I went to school with for a while, who doesn't understand the word no. I don't know what he was doing back here, but none of what he said about you is true." He needed Kurt to believe he was telling the truth and right now, Kurt didn't look like he did.

"I punched him after you ran out," he admitted. "I never thought I would be that guy, but the look on your face, it just killed me."

He tried to catch Kurt's eye to see Kurt's reaction but Kurt wasn't looking at him.

"Did you mean what you said in the basement, or did I imagine that?" he finally asked, still not meeting Blaine's eyes.

Blaine paused for a moment. He had said a lot of things in the basement when he had thought Kurt was unconscious, but then he remembered the brief moment during which Kurt had regained consciousness.

"I did," he mumbled, "but I wasn't sure you had really heard me." Kurt finally looked up, a shy smile on his face.

"Me too," he whispered. "But I'd completely understand if you had changed your mind and wanted to be with someone with less baggage."

Everyone has baggage, his dad had told him once during a conversation about Kurt and his dad was right. Blaine had his own insecurities, his own demons to fight. He knew things might not always be easy with Kurt, but he had to give them a chance. So he shook his had. "I didn't. And I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I was a coward and I was stupid because I thought I knew better what you needed than you did. All I can hope for is that I haven't lost you."

A pale hand grasped his own, and Blaine marveled again how well their hands seemed to fit together. "I haven't," Kurt replied and Blaine could feel his heart beat faster.

Behind them, the people on the TV started to chant, starting to count down from twenty. "I really want to kiss you now," Blaine admitted before he slowly leaned it. Kurt's hand stopped him though and Blaine froze.

"I'm sorry, I should have waited for your answer." Blaine blushed. "It's okay, if you don't want to."

Kurt shook his head. "I do. It's just, I've never had a proper kiss. Not one that counted."

Blaine frowned, because what he had seen in the hallway had looked like a kiss to him. "What, what about Karofsky?" he asked and Kurt tensed immediately. "It's okay. I'm not mad."

Kurt looked confused as well now. "How do you know?"

"I saw you in the hallway with him before Christmas."

Kurt suddenly paled and Blaine wondered if should have just kept his mouth shut. "Blaine, I never wanted Karofsky to kiss me, but he seems to have a problem to accept a no as well."

Blaine balled his hands into fist again, immediately rethinking his vow to not use violence in the future again, but he also realized that now wasn't the time to plot Karofsky's demise.

He swallowed before he took Kurt's hand again. "So would it still be okay if I kissed you?" he asked nervously and Kurt gave him a tiny nod.

Ever so slowly Blaine leaned forward and cupped Kurt's jaw before carefully brushing his lips against Kurt's. As kisses go, it was probably the chastest kiss he had ever had, but it was also one of the best because this was Kurt. His best friend. The boy he was hopelessly falling in love with.

After a moment of hesitation, Kurt moved his own lips as well, before he pulled back, a huge smile on his face.

"Happy New Year, Kurt," Blaine whispered, a wide smile on his face as well.

Kurt turned his head to the TV. "Oh we were too late," he mumbled. Blaine pressed another quick kiss to Kurt's lips.

"We'll get another chance next year."


	18. Chapter 17: A New Home

Blaine

"I can't believe you got us banned from the Lima Bean," Kurt remarked as they were sipping their overprized Starbucks coffees. Blaine smiled bashfully.

"I told you I couldn't let Sebastian get away with insulting you like that. And it's just for a few weeks. I'm sure I'll be allowed back soon."

It had been three days since Kurt had been released from the hospital and had moved in with the Hummels and Blaine had expected he would stop worrying about Kurt now that he was safe. But he still did, because Kurt wasn't acting like he did when he was over before. Where he had wolfed down his food like a normal teenage boy when he had first started to come over for dinner, he was now mostly picking at his food and Blaine was worried about how thin Kurt was again. Experience told him however, that questioning Kurt about it would just make Kurt pull away and so he hoped Kurt would switch back to the way he was before once he got settled and felt more comfortable in their home.

"And you are sure you don't want to split a cookie with me?" he tried nevertheless but Kurt shook his head. "I'm still full from lunch," Kurt answered and Blaine was sure that was a lie. He decided to let it go for now though, because there were other things they needed to talk about.

"Alright, more for me I guess. By the way, my friends Wes and David have been bugging me to let them meet my boyfriend before Wes has to go back to school," he told Kurt and Kurt's eyes widened. Blaine quickly went over what he had just said to understand Kurt's reaction before he blushed himself.

They hadn't exactly had had a talk about it, but he had assumed they were boyfriends now that they had shared their first kiss on New Year's Eve. Was he getting ahead of things? Was that not what Kurt wanted? Well there was only one way to find out. Before he could say anything, Kurt beat him to the punch though.

"Is that what we are?" he asked shyly, playing with his napkin and avoiding to look at Blaine. Blaine swallowed, before he gave Kurt's hand in front of him a quick squeeze.

"I'd like that," he admitted, and to his relief Kurt looked up, a small smile on his face.

"I’d like that too, but what about your dad though? Is he going to be okay with us dating?"

Now it was Blaine's turn to shyly look away before he answered. "He might have been the one to tell me for a few weeks to man up and tell you how I feel about you," he admitted and when he looked back at Kurt, Kurt smile had grown and he was now giving Blaine a rare toothy smile.

"Okay then. And I'd love to meet your friends," Kurt replied before hiding his smile behind his mug.

"Oh, that reminds me. I texted the Glee club the number for the phone my dad got you. I wouldn't be surprised if you had a few messages from the girls when we get back home."

It felt good to refer to his home as Kurt's home now and though it was unorthodox to move in with your boyfriend a few days after you started dating, Blaine was sure they would make it work, because the more time he spent with Kurt, the surer he was that he was indeed falling in love with Kurt.

That moment, he was one of the happiest people on earth, because he now got to spend every waking moment with the person he was crazy about.

Kurt

Blaine had been right. Kurt had a few missed calls from Rachel on the phone Burt had bought for him and a text from Mercedes telling him to call her ASAP because he still hadn't told her about the meeting with Blaine. The last few days had been crazy and so Kurt had completely forgotten that the girls were waiting to hear back from him.

He had refused the phone at first, wanting to buy one for himself, but Burt had insisted Kurt take it because he wanted to be able to always get in touch with Kurt when he needed to and Kurt had begrudgingly accepted it.

He put the phone back down on his nightstand before he went over to Blaine's room and knocked on the door. It would definitely take some time getting used to living with Blaine permanently, but it was nice to know someone was always close by if he needed to talk or just didn't want to be alone.

"Come in," Blaine called out and Kurt stepped inside. Blaine was lying on his bed, his laptop open in front of him. When he saw that it was Kurt, he immediately stood up and walked over to Kurt and took his hand.

Kurt tried not to blush while he relished the touch before he remembered why he came over.

"Rachel and Mercedes keep bugging me about what happened with us as well – I hope it's okay I talked to them about it?" he quickly added and Blaine nodded "and so I thought it might be best if we just invited Mercedes, Rachel and your friends together so we only have to tell them once."

Blaine smiled at him and nodded but Kurt wasn't done. "And can you please not tell them about what happened. I'm going to tell them I'm living with you now, but I don't want them to think I'm crazy or suicidal, you know?"

Blaine pulled him closer and wrapped his arm around him and Kurt put his head on Blaine's shoulder.

"I'd never tell someone something so private," he whispered and Kurt relaxed into his arms. "Just tell them whatever you are comfortable with."

***

After his conversation with Blaine, Kurt felt a lot better the next afternoon when he and Blaine drove over to Starbucks to meet with the girls and Blaine's friends.

They were running a bit late because Kurt couldn't decide on an outfit, because he maintained it was important he made a good first impression on Blaine's closest friends at Dalton. When they arrived, Rachel and Mercedes were already sitting in a corner with two boys, one of which Kurt recognized as they boy Blaine had hugged in his driveway a few weeks back and Kurt felt embarrassed he had jumped to conclusions and had run off out of jealousy. Definitely something he would never tell Blaine if he could avoid it.

Blaine's friends seemed genuinely happy to meet him and he soon found himself relaxing around them, while he listened to them telling stories about Blaine's time at Dalton. Rachel and Mercedes were bouncing in their chairs excitedly as well, ever since Wes had called him Blaine's boyfriend and he was happy their friends were happy for them.

It was hard to imagine Blaine wear a uniform every day though and Kurt sensed there was a story behind the reason Blaine had been at Dalton in the first place. Burt didn't strike him as the kind of guy to send his son to a fancy private school because he thought public school wasn't good enough, but Kurt wasn't going to pry. If Blaine wanted to tell him, he would be ready to listen. Whatever had brought Blaine to Dalton, he was glad he had had friends like Wes and David there who seemed to genuinely care about him.

"So are we the first ones you have told?" Rachel finally interrupted and Kurt was surprised she had managed to hold back this long. He nodded before he added. "And it would be great if you didn't tell anyone. Blaine and I want to do that on our own terms," he told them and both girls promised not to gossip about them until they were ready to let people know.

Kurt wanted to scream it from the rooftops that he and Blaine were dating now, but he was also afraid of possible repercussions, so for now, their relationship would have to remain a secret.

They changed the topic soon after, and Rachel got especially excited when she heard that David was in his school's glee club as well, until he told her that it was quite likely that they would compete against one another at Regionals.

Soon after, the two girls moved closer to him, curious to know how he and Blaine had actually ended up together.

"I could just give you a ride home, so we can talk in private," Rachel suggested and Kurt knew now was the time to tell his friends about his new living arrangement before they found out by accident and came up with all kinds of theories.

"Um, I'm living with Blaine and his dad now," he admitted and both Mercedes and Rachel gaped at him. "What happened?" Rachel asked and Kurt schooled his expression before he answered.

"Nothing really. Social services just finished investigating my mom and decided I shouldn’t stay with her any longer. Blaine's dad offered to take me in, so I'm living with them now," he explained.

Mercedes pulled him into her arms before Rachel took over. "Are you okay?" she asked and Kurt nodded.

"Yeah, I really am." It wasn't even a lie. He was more than okay with living with Blaine and he was sure that in time he would be okay in general.

"Please don't tell anyone about this either. People have already been saying all sorts of things about me in school and I really don't want to give them more ammunition," he told them and both girls immediately nodded.

"I'm really happy for you, Kurt," Rachel added. "You deserve it."

Kurt gave her a genuine smile, as he still found it hard to believe that his life had changed for the better so suddenly.

He knew he still had a lot of things to deal with, but for the moment he was happy to sit with his friends and gush about his boyfriend who looked really happy spending time with his own friends. He had never thought Blaine might be lonely because of his instant popularity, but he now realized that it must have been difficult for him to leave his friends behind, and Kurt vowed to make sure Blaine spent more time with his Dalton friends in the future.

* * *

 

Burt was waiting for him outside when he emerged from the building after his first meeting with his new therapist. At first he had thought she was way too young to be qualified to help him, but he had realized it was even easier to talk to someone who wasn't that much older.

"How'd it go?" Burt asked him when Kurt climbed into the driver's seat, so he could practice driving some more before he took his test. He shrugged.

"I like her, but we didn't really talk about much. It was more about getting to know one another and to see if I'd be comfortable talking to her," he replied before he added, "which I am."

Burt nodded and Kurt was grateful he didn't pry. It was something he really liked about Blaine's dad – he made sure you know you could talk to him about anything but he didn't push you if he felt you weren't ready to share.

They drove in silence for a few miles before Burt spoke up again. "You nervous about going back to school on Monday?"

Kurt tensed for a moment before he gave Burt a weak smile. "I guess as long as no one found out about my stay in the hospital, things should be okay." And even if they had, he didn't think things could actually get worse but he didn't say that out loud because Burt was already doing enough for him and there was no need to burden him with the details of his bullying.

"Good. You tell me if anyone gives you grieve about you living with us," Burt replied and Kurt nodded. He didn't want to lie to Blaine's dad, but he had been able to handle things on his own so far, and just because someone actually cared about what was going on at school didn't mean he had to tell them every single thing. He would be eighteen soon, and so he really couldn't come crying to Blaine's dad every time someone was mean to him.

No, things at school would probably be the same as always as long as no one found out he and Blaine were dating now. Another talk he needed to have with Blaine, because they hadn't really discussed it so far and he needed to know he and Blaine were on the same page.

Blaine

Blaine was aware his dad had been watching him and Kurt closely since Kurt had been released from the hospital and so he wasn't surprised by the knock on his bedroom door while Kurt was out with Rachel and Mercedes, picking out bedding and decorations for his new bedroom.

His dad got straight to the point, not beating around the bush.

"Anything you want to tell me about you and Kurt? I'm not blind you know."

Blaine put down his book and sat up, while his dad sat down on the edge of his bed. He didn't want to lie to his dad even if it meant he and Kurt would have less privacy once his dad was aware they were dating. Not that that was an issue at the moment as they hadn't done more so far than exchange a few chaste kisses.

"We talked and decided to give dating a try," he admitted. He expected his dad would be happy for them, so he was surprised by his dad's reaction.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea right now?" he asked and Blaine furrowed his brows.

"I don't understand. You were the one to tell me to go for it and let Kurt decide if he was ready to be in a relationship?" His dad nodded.

"And I still stand by that, but things are different now. You need to be aware that Kurt is still going to be here if it doesn't work out, because I've promised Kurt, he'll have a home with us as long as he wants to stay here."

Blaine nodded. He was pretty sure he and Kurt would make it work, but even if it didn't he was sure they would still be able to be friends and live in the same house.

His dad just snorted though when Blaine told him that and Blaine looked at his dad confusedly. "What's so funny?"

"Blaine, ever since you and Kurt found each other again, you have never been just friends. You just needed some time to realize it," his dad replied still laughing and Blaine crossed his arms in front of his chest, not appreciating it that his dad made fun of him. He and Kurt had been great friends before they had developed feelings for one another and he was sure they could be best friends again, if dating didn't work out.

"Whatever," he muttered. "I promise I'll make sure Kurt will always feel welcome here regardless of our relationship status."

His dad got up and gently squeezed his shoulder. "Good, that is all I wanted to hear. You, me and Kurt will have a discussion about the house rules once he gets back from shopping, because what kind of parent would I be if I just let you do whatever you wanted."

Blaine groaned because he could still remember the awkward sex talk his dad had given him when he had found out Dalton didn't have sex ed classes. He just hoped his dad wouldn't try to give Kurt one as well, while he was there. He was certain he would die of embarrassment if he did.

Still he nodded, because even though things sometimes got awkward, he still loved his dad for making the effort and never shying away from topics he might be uncomfortable with.

"Thank you. I love you dad," he told his dad before he could leave his room. His dad stopped and turned. "Love you too kiddo. For what it's worth – I really hope it works out between you and Kurt."

 

Kurt

The door was open as per Burt's rules when Kurt sat down next to Blaine on the bed, determined to finally have a discussion about how they would handle their new relationship in public.

"Keep the door open," Burt yelled from downstairs and Kurt cringed, vividly remembering the conversation they had had with Burt.

_A few days ago…_

" _And you are sure he is okay with us?" Kurt asked again as they made their way downstairs, Kurt clutching Blaine's hand tightly. He knew Burt was nothing like his own father, he accepted them and he even had encouraged Blaine to pursue Kurt, but it all just seemed too good to be true. He was afraid Burt would tell him he had to find another place to stay if he wanted to keep seeing Blaine. He knew he was crazy about the other boy, but if he was quite honest, he wasn't sure if he'd give up his new home for a romantic relationship with him._

_Burt was already sitting in his armchair and Kurt immediately let go of Blaine's hand when he spotted him, causing Burt to chuckle and Kurt's face to turn scarlet._

_Kurt made sure there was enough space between him and Blaine when they sat down next to each other on the couch and Kurt was preparing himself for the worst because he was used to people disappointing him, though he hoped Burt really was different._

" _Relax, Kurt. I just want to talk to the two of you. There's nothing to worry about," Burt assured him and Kurt gulped because as much as he truly wanted to trust Burt completely, he knew he wasn't there yet. There was a reason he was seeing a therapist after all._

" _Blaine told you about us?" he asked trying to hide his fear and Burt nodded. "And you are okay with it?" Burt nodded again._

" _Would I prefer it if my son and his boyfriend wouldn't live under the same roof? Hell yes, but things are what they are, so we are just going to have to make it work. And I think if we all follow a few simple rules, we should be okay."_

_Kurt nodded frantically. Rules were good. Having rules meant being able to avoid punishment and he didn't want Burt to ever be angry with him, because he hated not knowing what to expect._

" _Such as?" Blaine chimed in. "We are not kids anymore and you know you can trust us."_

_Burt chuckled again. "You are teenage boys and trust me I know what's that like. So don't make promises you can't keep. Now listen up. If I'm not home, I expect you to stay in the living room if you are together. When I'm here and you are upstairs together, the door stays open. You will sleep in your own rooms and keep it PG when I'm around. Just make sure that whatever you do is something you wouldn't mind seeing me do with a date as well."_

_Both Kurt and Blaine shuddered at the same time, because just no. Grown ups weren't supposed to do stuff like that. Burt raised an eyebrow and Kurt quickly nodded._

" _I promise we'll be good," he told Burt earnestly and he meant it. He and Blaine hadn't even progressed from closed mouthed kisses yet so Burt really didn't have to worry about them acting inappropriately under his roof. Now that they were finally together, they had all the time in the world._

" _Wait, are you dating someone?" Blaine suddenly interrupted and to Kurt's surprise Burt actually blushed. "I might have been out on a date with the nice nurse from the hospital," he admitted and Kurt and Blaine shared a look._

" _What?" Burt asked and Blaine blurted out, "her son is a total jerk." Burt just rolled his eyes. "Jesus kid. I met her for dinner once. It's not like I asked her to move in and marry me. Now get out of my sight and be all couply, but ah, no funny business._

_Next to him Blaine jumped up, grabbed his hand and practically dragged him out of the room._

" _I know you said she was nice, but we have to break them up. I do not want to see Finn in this house if I can avoid it," Blaine muttered once they were in his room. Kurt stepped behind him and slowly started to massage Blaine's tense shoulders to relax him before he spoke._

" _He gave us his blessing so maybe you should do the same for him. And who knows if they even keep seeing each other."_

_Blaine relaxed into his arms, before he turned his head and caught Kurt's lips in a sweet kiss. "You are right," he whispered with a smile on his face once he released Kurt._

"What are you thinking about?" Blaine asked bringing him back to the present. Kurt blushed before he remembered why he had come into Blaine's room in the first place.

"What are we going to tell people when we go back to school on Monday? Are we even telling anyone?" he asked as Blaine scooted over and took his hands into his own.

Blaine shrugged. "I wouldn't mind telling everyone. I'm proud to call you my boyfriend."

Kurt's face lit up because he was still trying to get used to Blaine calling him his boyfriend, before he expression sobered.

"But what about the football team? You know they wouldn't hesitate to go after you as well now that you are on break, especially Karofsky."

Blaine sighed, but nodded in understanding. "So you don't want to tell anyone?" Kurt shook his head. "I thought we could just tell the glee club. I'm sure they'll keep it a secret. After all they've never said anything about Brittany and Santana either and it's pretty much an open secret that they are dating," Kurt replied and Blaine quickly agreed before pulling Kurt even closer.

Kurt flinched though the moment Blaine put his hands on his hip and Blaine thankfully immediately pulled away and apologized. It wasn't that he didn't want Blaine to touch him but he still felt like he weighed too much and didn't want to gross out Blaine if he touched his flabby stomach.

"Can we just lie down together?" Kurt asked instead and both of them shuffled backward until they were lying down next to each other and Kurt put his head on Blaine's chest.

He didn't want to worry Blaine, but he was a bit scared of going back to school and telling New Directions about them, but the longer he stayed with his head resting on Blaine's chest, feeling him breath in and out, the more he relaxed until he dozed off next to Blaine, and only left his side when Burt came upstairs a few hours later, reminding Kurt that he was supposed to sleep in his own bed.

Blaine

As much as he wanted to shout it from the rooftops that he and Kurt were together now, he knew Kurt was right. As long as the team didn't need him to be healthy there was no guarantee that Karofsky and the guys who agreed with him wouldn't go after him if they found out he was actually acting on the gay.

So he let go of Kurt's hand as soon as they arrived in the school parking lot Monday morning. A few guys in letterman jacket were standing around one of the dumpsters, so Blaine was happy when Puck and Mike came up to him and Kurt.

Puck was telling them about some college New Year's Eve parties he had snuck into, while Mike was complaining about his mom and his girlfriend not getting along because Tina hated doing "Asian things". It was actually nice being back in school and seeing his new friends again Blaine realized and he was grateful Kurt had encouraged him to befriend the glee guys.

He noticed the other jocks glaring at Kurt but with Puck and Mike acting as bodyguards there was nothing they could do but scowl, fortunately. They made it inside without any incidents and Blaine waited with Kurt by his locker until Puck came back to accompany him to his first class.

He knew Kurt had been worried about people finding out about his accidental overdose, so he kept listening to the conversations in the hallways between classes, but fortunately nothing was being said. He was just about to close his locker when he collided with the sharp edge and cried out in pain.

Karofsky was standing next to the locker, the picture of innocence. "Sorry man, didn't see you there," he told Blaine and Blaine glared at him before clutching his throbbing shoulder and walking off.

People were staring as he passed, many looking shocked because one member of the football team had just body checked another member, but Blaine just put a smile on his face and kept walking.

He was not a scared eight grader anymore and he refused to let Karofsky get to him. The other boy obviously had issues and Blaine was tempted to use the information he had to blackmail Karofsky, but unfortunately Kurt was adamant not to out the abusive jock.

Karofsky could do to him whatever he wanted if that meant he would finally leave Kurt alone. There was no way in hell he would allow a closeted jock to sexually harass his boyfriend any longer and if he had to deal with shoves and the like to ensure Kurt's safety, so be it.

Kurt was already waiting in the choir room when Blaine got there after returning an ice pack to the locker room and he sat down in his usual chair next to Kurt after giving Kurt's hand a quick squeeze. To his surprise, Kurt didn't let go of his hand though and Blaine happily put their linked hands on top of his knee.

Rachel gave them a huge smile when she saw and Blaine saw Kurt smile back just as the rest of the club came in, and Blaine hoped they would be as happy for them as Rachel was.

"Well, well, well. Looks like Frodo finally found his precious," Santana suddenly drawled and while most of the club looked confused, Blaine blushed while cursing her for coming up with the hobbit jokes. He really wasn't that small, was he? Maybe he should wear his hair the way he used to wear it at Dalton again.

"Well, obviously Hummel and Anderson have gotten their shit together and are screwing," Santana explained.

From the corner of his eye he could see Kurt's had turned scarlet and he suspected he wasn't doing much better himself. Still, neither of them let go of their clasped hands.

"We are not," he blurted out, hoping to do damage control, but unfortunately all eyes were on them now.

"I mean yes, we are dating, but we are not," he stopped himself before he could make an awkward situation even more awkward.

"What I mean is, Kurt and I wanted to tell you today that we are together. We hope you are happy for us," he finished his little speech and dared a quick look at Kurt who was smiling at him.

Within a few seconds, Kurt was surrounded by his girls and Santana gave him one of her rare genuine smiles.

To his relief, everyone seemed to be happy for them apart from Finn who was glaring at the piano as if it had personally offended him but he suspected that had something to do with his and Rachel's break up and Santana's new degree. The fierce Latina apparently had a soft spot for his boyfriend and when she had heard that Finn had repeatedly just stood there and let Karofsky bully Kurt she had forbidden her cheerios to go out with Finn while they were all still in school.

Puck sat down in a chair in front of him and turned to offer his fist for a fist bump. Blaine tentatively touched his against Puck's who smiled before he yelled "get some, Hummel," to the amusement of the rest of the club.

Blaine just rolled his eyes, used to Puck's antics by now, and happy the tall jock approved of his new relationship.

As much as he wanted to bask in his friends' acceptance there was still something he had to say though, but Kurt beat him to the punch.

"Thanks for being so accepting of us. Unfortunately the rest of the school isn't so can you please not tell anyone about this?" he asked slightly breathless and everyone immediately nodded, though Santana looked angry and Brittany sad.

Before anything else could be said about the subject Mr. Schuester came and Blaine tried not to get distracted by Kurt's thumb which kept brushing over the back of his hand during the lesson.

"Hey I need to talk to Rachel real quick about something. Can you ask the girls to wait with you by my car?" he asked his boyfriend once the lesson was finally over and Kurt nodded. He quickly grabbed Rachel's hand and dragged her over to his locker.

"What's going on?" she asked as soon as they stopped. "I want to take Kurt out on a proper first date, but I need your help because I want to surprise him to take the pressure off," he explained before he suddenly found himself with an armful of Rachel.

"I'd love to help," she told him. "Just tell me what you need me to do."

Blaine was about to answer when he suddenly shuddered. He turned slightly in Rachel's arms and found Finn standing with Azizmo and Karofsky a few lockers away. Both Finn and Karofsky were glaring at him while Azizmo looked bored.

"Let's get out of here," he told Rachel and grabbed her hand. "I'll fill you in on the way to the car."

It was probably nothing, but he still felt uneasy seeing Finn standing close to the other jocks. For the time being he shoved his worries to the back of his mind and started to explain his plan to Rachel.

* * *

 

A few lockers down from high school students Rachel Berry and Blaine Hummel, three members of the McKinley High football team were standing close together.

Finn Hudson, the quarterback, was glaring at his ex-girlfriend as she was hugging another boy, something that didn't go unnoticed by notorious bully Dave Karofsky. It was his friend Azizmo Adams who spoke though, already bored by the lack of action.

"Seriously Hudson, snap out of it. It's not like he's going to be all up on her." Finn scowled. "I know that. Apparently Hummel is screwing Anderson now. I just don't like the guy. He comes here and expects that everyone immediately worships him."

What Finn Hudson didn't say out loud was that he was angry many of his previously taken for granted solos had been given to Blaine since his arrival and as official leader of New Directions he felt they should be his. Something similar had happened during game warm ups and Finn was not happy that some members put more stock into what the stupid kicker was saying than the quarterback.

Had Finn Hudson been playing any attention to his surroundings, he would have noticed his team mate's reaction to his announcement, but Finn was too preoccupied with wallowing in self-pity that he missed Dave Karofsky's furious reaction.

Unaware of the other jock’s feelings, he was in for a surprise when secrets were revealed down the road.


	19. Chapter 18: Burt Hummel vs William McKinley High School

Kurt

He really liked Rachel, don't get him wrong, but some days he wondered why he was the one seeing a therapist. He was currently waiting for Rachel to pick him up at the Hummels so they could drive to Breadstix together. Apparently she needed to discuss her newest crush with him, though he had no idea why they had to go out for dinner to do that and why he had been forced to dress rather nicely. His boyfriend was nowhere to be seen, and Kurt wasn't sure if he should be worried about Blaine ignoring him or not. Maybe it was a good idea to go out with Rachel after all – he could use a relaxing night during which he wasn't constantly reevaluating his behavior as not to destroy his first relationship before it even really began.

All the way to the most popular student hang out in town, Rachel refused to tell him anything about this new guy, but Kurt was glad she was apparently moving on and putting herself back out there. Breadstix was packed, but Kurt wasn't surprised as it was a Friday night aka date night for most couples. Usually, Friday nights were reserved for family dinner at the Hummels, but Burt was on a date as well, so Kurt didn't feel too bad about skipping it, especially after Blaine had been avoiding him all day.

There were some students he recognized from school, but most only looked at them confusedly for a moment before getting back to their meals. Still, he was relieved at first when Rachel led him to a secluded table in a corner, away from most prying eyes until he spotted the single red rose on the table.

"Rachel, what…?" Before he could finish, Rachel excuses herself to go freshen up and Kurt sank into one of the chairs utterly confused. He really hoped this was all one huge misunderstanding because Rachel wouldn't really hit on him, after she tried so hard to get him and Blaine together, right?

"Excuse me? Is this seat taken?" a voice suddenly asked from behind him and Kurt was about to say yes when he recognized the voice and he squealed to his embarrassment.

"Blaine! Oh my god, what are you doing here?" he jumped up and threw his arms around his boyfriend's neck before he remembered where they were and he quickly let go, hoping people would think it was just two friends hugging.

"You didn't really think I'd let you go out on a date with Rachel?" Blaine chuckled and Kurt gave him a quick onceover. Blaine had cleaned up nicely as well, wearing dark jeans, a dark blue shirt and a grey cardigan with matching tie. "The only person I want to take out on a date is you," he added and the butterflies in Kurt's stomach started to tango. He hit Blaine's shoulder lightly.

"You could have just asked me out. You know I wouldn't have said no to you," he chided as Blaine pulled out the chair for him, before sitting down opposite him.

"I know Kurt, but I wanted to take the pressure off. This way I was the only one freaking out and I hope that now we can enjoy a nice evening together," Blaine told him and Kurt knew he was right. He would probably have spent hours in front of the mirror trying to look attractive for Blaine, freaking out over how to behave on a date in public and so on. He was still unsure about the second thing, but at least he hadn't had time for an internal freak out before he even left the house.

They chatted about random things until a waitress came by to take their orders and Kurt quickly ordered a salad, trying to ignore Blaine's disapproving look. Blaine ordered pasta and breadsticks for himself and Kurt did his best to make sure most of the ones Blaine was handing him ended up in a napkin in his lap. He felt bad for wasting food, especially because not too long ago he would have gladly stuffed himself with breadsticks had he had the opportunity, but that was before a gorgeous boy had agreed to date him and Kurt hadn't had any reason to care about his weight.

As soon as the waitress had delivered their drinks, Blaine reached for Kurt's hand on the table, but Kurt quickly put a napkin on top of their linked hands, afraid some of the McKinley students would see and spill the beans about them at school.

Blaine's pasta looked delicious when it arrived and Kurt put a fake smile on his face as he munched on his tasteless salad, trying not to show how much he wanted to steal Blaine's plate right now. But apart from the food everything was going great. Although they were just doing what they had done lots of times before at the Lima Bean, somehow it was still different now. Because now, Blaine was holding his hand throughout dinner even if that meant having to eat with just one hand. Now Blaine would kiss him good night at the end of the day. Now they weren't meeting for just coffee any longer. Unfortunately good things always come to an end for Kurt and that evening wasn't any exception.

"What do we have here? Trying to spread the gay even more," a voice that made Kurt tense up interrupted them and Kurt looked up to come face to face with Karofsky who was leering at Kurt while managing to glare at Blaine at pretty much the same time. An impressive feat. 

"A little birdy told me that you didn't manage to keep your hands off Anderson like I told you, so now it's payback time," he threatened and Kurt gulped, because apparently a jealous Karofsky was even worse than normal.

Blaine looked puzzled for a moment before his eyes narrowed. "What I do with my hands is no concern of yours and if you don't want the whole of Breastix to hear the reason why it shouldn't interest you I'd get out of here," Blaine shot back and Kurt's grip on his hand tightened, because yes Karofsky was an epic jerk, but Kurt believed that no one deserved to be outed. Not that he himself had ever really had a chance to stay in the closet, because people always had assumed and after his locker had been defaced, everyone had taken it as confirmation.

"Don't threaten me Hummel," Karofsky growled. "And I don't intend to do it here. See my buddies over there," Karofsky turned and pointed to three members of the hockey team glaring in their direction. "We'll be waiting outside for you."

With a last glare at Blaine, Karofsky turned and the three hockey players followed him outside. Kurt's heart sank because Breadstix closed at midnight and it was already nearly ten. He had no doubt Karofsky and his goonies would wait outside in the parking lot for them until they were forced to leave.

Blaine

Blaine was no stranger to violence, but this was different. This wasn't about dealing with a few homophobic jocks – this was worse because of Karofsky's delusional claim on Kurt. If it were just him, Kurt and Karofsky, he'd risk getting into a fight, because he was sure Karofsky wouldn't seriously hurt Kurt because he was after Blaine. But with members of the hockey team around things were different, because they would hurt Kurt, just as they had hurt him in school ever since Karofsky had joined forces with them.

Kurt looked pale when Blaine finally looked at him, but he looked a lot calmer than Blaine felt. "Should we call the police?" his boyfriend asked and Blaine could see that Kurt didn't really want that but was worried enough about Blaine's safety to suggest it. Blaine shook his head. "We don't have proof that this is why they are out in the parking lot. We need to call my dad."

He didn't really want to involve his dad because it was embarrassing that he couldn't even take his boyfriend out on a date without having to ask his dad to come and get him.

Kurt immediately shook his head though. "Please, no Blaine. He's already done so much for me, I really don't want to add to the problems he already has to deal with when it comes to me," Kurt pleaded and Blaine wanted to tell him he wouldn't and that his dad didn't mind taking care of Kurt.

"Do you have a better idea?" he asked, because he also really didn't want to call his dad, although his reasons weren't the same.

Kurt shrugged. "We could just make a run for it. I'm sure they wouldn't actually try to hurt us in a parking lot. Someone could see."

Blaine tensed and his hands started to shake. He never told Kurt about the things that had happened in his own past because Kurt had had enough on his own plate, but apparently he had to come clean if he wanted to convince Kurt that trying to run was not a good idea. He took a deep breath before he took Kurt's hand again.

"Kurt, the reason I went to Dalton was not because my dad thought private school would be the better choice. In eighth grade I wasn't out at the beginning of the school year. Only one other boy knew and we decided to go to a dance together. We had to leave early because he wasn't feeling too well, and while we were waiting to be picked up we got dragged out of the school parking lot and were beaten up pretty badly. People were outside as well, but no one either saw or pretended not to see. For the second half of eighth grade my dad found me a school in a LGBT friendly neighborhood, but I would have been forced to go to high school with the boys that beat up my friend and I. So that's why my dad sent me to Dalton."

When he looked at Kurt after he had finished his story, there were tears in his eyes and Blaine could feel them welling up in his own eyes as well. It felt good to finally tell someone that wasn't his dad or the cops he realized.

"I'm so sorry Blaine, I had no idea," Kurt whispered and Blaine quickly wiped his face with his sleeve, because the last thing they needed was causing a scene at Breadstix.

"I'm fine now I promise, but I just don't want a repeat of that. And I had to promise my dad to call if I ever was in a situation like that again and to stay somewhere safe until he could get to me," Blaine explained and Kurt squeezed his hand.

"Call him. I don't ever want to see you hurt again even if that means having to reveal some of my own secrets," his boyfriend told him and Blaine breathed out a sigh of relief.

His dad sounded weirdly calm after Blaine explained where they were and why they needed help, but Blaine suspected he was furious. He knew his dad hated nothing more than feeling helpless but there wasn't anything anyone could do.

Luckily his dad arrived at the restaurant pretty quickly, and Blaine put on a fake smile, when he saw that his dad had brought Finn's mom along.

"Kurt, Blaine, you remember Carole Hudson," he introduced her and Kurt gave her a genuine smile while Blaine tried to act polite at least. Blaine had already taken care of paying for dinner, so he and Kurt walked out of Breadstix, flanked by his dad and Carole on either side.

He could see Karofsky and the hockey players leaning against a car as they passed, but Blaine looked away when he caught Karofsky's expression. The message was clear – this isn't over. His dad must have caught it too because instead of leading them to Blaine's car he walked them over to his truck.

"Blaine, if you give Carole your keys she is going to drive your car back to the house," his dad told him and Blaine reluctantly handed them over because he knew it was the best solution.

He and Kurt sat close together in the backseat, and Blaine was waiting for the inevitable questions but they didn't come.

"I need to drive Carole home," his dad finally spoke as they pulled into the driveway. "I want you two to wait for me in the living room, because we really need to have a talk as soon as I get back."

Blaine nodded and took Kurt's hand as they walked over to the living room couch. He sat down first and pulled Kurt against his chest, pressing a kiss to his temple.

"It's going to be okay. I promise."

Burt

It had been a long time since Burt had been out on a date with a woman and so it came as a surprise how much he enjoyed spending time with Carole Hudson. He knew from Blaine's outburst that his and Carole's kid didn't really get along, but he hoped that would change in the future if he and Carole kept seeing each other.

When his phone rang right in the middle of dessert he quickly excused himself and took the call because he knew it had to be important if his son called him in the middle of his first date with Kurt. Before he knew it his fists were clenched and he took a few calming breath because he knew that stress wasn't good for him. Blaine sounded panicked enough as it was and someone had to stay clear headed.

"What's wrong?" Carole asked when he returned to the table with their jackets. "I'm sorry Carole, but we need to leave. My son just called to say that he and his date got threatened at a restaurant and I need to go there and pick them up," he explained and Carole quickly put her coat on as well.

"I don't understand. Why would someone threaten your son and his date?" she asked on the way to the car and Burt sighed. It was probably a good idea to find out early if she was homophobic instead of after they'd been seeing each other for a while.

"Kurt Anderson is his boyfriend," he replied, checking her reaction from the corner of his eye. Carole's eyes widened for a moment, before she told him that Kurt was a really sweet boy and didn't deserve all the things that had happened to him. Burt gave her a small smile, appreciating her support, and they held hands like a couple of teenagers while they drove to Breadsticks.

It was a good thing she was with him, because when he caught sight of some large jock looking threateningly at his son and Kurt, he was tempted to run over and beat him up himself. But he knew that wouldn't help anyone, so he led the boys to his car and drove them home.

"I'm sorry for cutting our evening short," he told Carole as he walked her up to her front door. Carole shook her head.

"I understand. Can I just ask you a favor? I recognized the boy from the parking lot – he's been over here a few times. If Kurt or Blaine tell you that Finn is involved as well, will you let me know. I've done the best that I can with him, but it feels like I'm losing him to people who are a bad influence on him."

Burt felt bad for Carole because she was a sweet woman, but if it came to light that her son was one of his kids' tormentors, he didn't know how he would handle it. "I promise," he told her before he got back into his truck and drove back home to talk to the boys.

They were cuddled up on the living room couch, but pretty much sprang apart when he came inside. So far they'd been following his rules to a tee, but he wished Kurt wouldn't jump away from his son whenever he was in a room. He wasn't surprised however, that Kurt was still afraid to be himself completely around another father, especially after how his own parents had treated him for over a decade.

"Why do I have the feeling this wasn't the first time this guy threatened you?" he asked as he sat down opposite the boys. He remembered the jock from Blaine's football team, but as far as he understood the football team was leaving Blaine alone and Blaine and the glee club protected Kurt.

Kurt didn't say anything, staring at his hands in his laps, so Burt focused his attention on his son. "Come on buddy. I can't help you if you won't tell me what's going on," he tried to guilt his son into telling the truth and like always it worked like a charm.

"His name is Dave Karofsky and he's been mean to us pretty much since elementary school. He is the worst of the bullies at school, because he targets Kurt all the time, pushing him around, throwing him in dumpsters, throwing slushies at him, and…"

Whatever it was his son wanted to add, Kurt's wide eyes seemed to stop him, but for now those things were bad enough.

"What does the school say about all this?" Burt asked already knowing the answer, because he didn't think McKinley was much better than Blaine's old public school.

"Nothing. The other students either look away or enjoy watching and the teacher say we don't have proof. Most teachers just stay away from the hallways between classes, but there are some who just look the other way. No one dares to go against the football team, so we can basically do whatever we want without fear of punishment," Blaine continued and Burt felt his blood boil.

He had been on the football team as well in high school and some times they had taken other kids' lunches until he got caught and his mom got called into the school. She had told him how disappointed she was and that she had raised him to be better than that and he had taken it to heart. Being nice might not have been the cool thing to do when you were on top of the food chain, but it had gotten him Blaine's mother out of it, while his teammates were often ignored by girls at school because they were jerks.

It was time to have a little talk with the other parents to see if they couldn't talk sense into their kids. But then he remembered what Carole had told him about having a hard time getting through to her son.

"Is Finn-, is Finn one of those who bullies you as well?" he had to ask because he had promised Carole. Kurt finally spoke.

"He did before I joined Glee Club. I mean, he never shoved me, but he was part of the group who threw me into dumpsters and threw pee balloons at me. Now he just stands by and lets it happen while the rest of the Glee Club is helping me out."

Burt was appalled. He couldn't believe what those kids were doing to one of their classmates. A boy they had probably gone to school with since they were kids.

He was honestly surprised Kurt was as put together as he was considering the abuse he had to deal with not only at home but at school as well. It was time to take action for both of his boys, because apparently Blaine wasn't protected by being on the football team anymore either.

"That's it. First thing Monday morning, I'll have a little talk with your principal. No one pushes my family around, and it's time I'll let him know that," he growled causing Kurt to flinch for a moment.

He immediately lowered his voice as he added. "I'll take care of it, because neither of you deserves anything other but a safe school environment."

* * *

Burt called the principal's office first thing Monday morning and after some yelling was granted an 'audience' with principal Figgins.

When he walked into the office that afternoon, that crazy lady from TV walked in behind him, while the incompetent choir teacher was already inside.

"What are you doing here?" Schuester asked the McKinley cheerleading coach who proceeded to insult his hair before she turned to Burt.

"I like knowing what's going on in my school. Someone has to be in charge," she replied, glaring at the principal and Burt immediately liked her a lot more.

"What's your excuse William?" Schuester spluttered indignantly for a few seconds.

"Well, Kurt and Blaine are in my glee club so I think whatever is going on concerns me as well."

Burt was tempted to yell at him in front of everyone for only acting concerned when the principal got involved, but he needed to keep his cool if he wanted to achieve anything.

"What can I do for you Mr. Hummel?" the principal asked and Burt started by explaining what had happened Friday night. Coach Sylvester was visibly angry, while the principal looked apologetic.

"This is quite unfortunate, but I really cannot do anything about things that do not happen on school grounds."

"Yeah well, you don't do anything about the things that do happen on school grounds either, so why am I not surprised?" Burt pretty much growled.

"Mr. Hummel, I'm sure-," Schuester tried to interrupt, but Burt was sure as hell not letting this guy stop him from telling it how it was.

"No, you listen! I sat my boys down Friday night and trust me I was not happy about what I heard about your sports teams throwing a student into a dumpster for years, pushing him so hard he had bruises and scars that had nothing to do with his father, destroying his clothes which got him into even more trouble at home – and what's worse, your teachers either look the other way or they aren't even monitoring the hallways between classes. I expect to be able to send my kids to school without having to worry if they'll make it out alive. Something needs to be done!" Screw being calm, Burt thought. They needed to understand how serious the situation was.

"Mr. Hummel, I understand your frustration, but Kurt isn't the only one of my glee kids who gets slushied and I don't see their parents or whatever you are to Kurt here."

Burt thought it was none of his business what his relationship with Kurt was.

"Well maybe they should if you are doing nothing to help their kids."

"Mr. Hummel, if I may," the principal finally joined the discussion. "If it were up to me, I would have gotten rid of the slushie machine ages ago, because do you know how much it costs me to have it cleaned up? Unfortunately the school board is against taking something away the football team likes, and as long as no teachers really complain about it, my hands are tied."

The principal sounded so resigned, Burt actually felt sorry for him for a moment. But then Schuester just had to butt in again.

"How do you expect me to help if I don't know what's going on? Neither Kurt nor Blaine have ever said anything to me about bullying. I can't read their minds."

Before Burt could tell him that was bullshit, because how could he miss the reason his glee club was acting as bodyguards for Kurt, coach Sylvester snorted.

"Seriously William, you are either blind or the hair gel has finally seeped into your brain."

Burt immediately turned to face her. "If you are so all knowing, then why the hell aren't you doing anything?" It was really hard staying calm when faced with such incompetent teachers.

There was a knock on the door and a large woman Burt recognized as the football coach stepped inside. Great, another one who doesn't do anything, Burt thought just as coach Sylvester started talking again.

"I'm sorry, but I have my own girls to protect. Shannon and I have been patrolling the hallways more though, since she caught on to what her team is rumored to be doing.”

"So there's nothing you are going to do?" Burt asked incredulously.

"Unfortunately, I can only throw people off the team or get them suspended if I catch them in the act and so far they have been careful when I was around. I wish there was more I could do because I don't want people on the team who hurt people off the field," the football coach explained, looking angry as well.

It was frustrating when Schuester and Figgins echoed her statement, but Schuester just had to make it worse again.

"From what I've seen, Kurt is always surrounded by members of the glee club – shouldn't that be enough to keep him safe."

Burt clenched his hands into fists, but couldn't stop himself from yelling. "My kids shouldn't need bodyguards so they can go to school without fearing for their lives. No kid should!"

The principal looked uncomfortable, but while the coaches nodded in agreement, Schuester just shrugged.

"You are right Mr. Hummel," coach Sylvester told him, " so here is what I can offer you in the meantime. Kurt looks scrawny enough to fit into a uniform. Tell him to meet me in the gym tomorrow afternoon. Trust me, no one dares to touch one of my Cheerios, not even the dumbest jocks."

Burt sighed. He had no idea if that was something Kurt would even consider doing, but he had to at least pass the message along. There had to be something else he could do though, because he really didn't want to wait until his kids got hurt publicly for the school to take action. He was just a simple man, but maybe there were some legal actions he could take against the school.

It was definitely time for a parent – parent conference.

Kurt

"So in conclusion – the only way I'm going to be safe at school is if I become a cheerleader," Kurt finished recounting what had happened during the conversation Burt had had with the school.

"Hijo de puta!" Santana yelled and the rest of the glee club that was already present joined her in cursing out the school and its teachers.

Rachel sat down next to him with tears in her eyes. "Why didn't you ever tell someone how bad it was?"

Kurt shrugged. "I thought it was pointless and now I have proof that no one cares apart from you guys." Blaine squeezed his hand and Kurt leaned further into him, glad to have people around him who gave a shit.

"So, does that mean you are becoming one of us?" Quinn asked after the group had quieted down. Kurt shook his head. "I shouldn't have to join a popular after school activity to be safe at school. If I ever do, it's going to be because I want to and right now I have enough on my plate as it is," he explained and Brittany pouted.

It was nice to know the Cheerios in the club wouldn't actually have a problem with him joining, but he just couldn't see himself as a cheerleader. And wouldn't that just be a huge cliché – the cheerleader dating the football player? Though he was sure it would piss off some people even more if a male cheerleader would date a football player. He shook his head to rid himself of the thought. Right now, no one outside the club knew they were dating, apart from Karofsky – and Kurt really wanted to know who had told him – so he didn't have to entertain the thought of him and Blaine walking down the hallway hand in hand, both in their uniforms.

Puck, Kurt noticed, had been awfully quiet during the discussions, so he jumped when the jock suddenly kicked his chair over. "They want proof – I'll get them proof," he yelled before storming out of the choir room. Kurt wasn't sure he wanted to know what Puck's plan was, because everyone knew about his brief stint in juvie.

"Why don't you do anything then, oh mighty quarterback?" Santana turned to Finn who was sitting in a corner, pretending not to listen. Finn shook his head.

"The team is divided enough as it is. And my job is to make us win games not tell the other players how to behave in school. No one is going to take me serious if I go against them."

Kurt saw Blaine clench his hands into fists from the corner of his eye and he rubbed his thumb over the back of his boyfriend's hand to calm him down. He disliked Finn as much as Blaine did, but he knew they couldn't force the tall jock to help them.

"Ignore him," he whispered and Blaine gradually relaxed again next to him.

"Can we just go home?" Blaine asked. "I'm really not in the mood for glee today." Kurt nodded and said a quick goodbye to his friends before he followed Blaine out of the choir room where they ran into Mr. Schuester.

"Where are you going? Class only just started," he asked and Blaine glared at him. "Now you care," he spat before pulling Kurt with him to the parking lot.

As soon as they reached the car, Kurt burst out laughing though there was nothing funny about their situation. But the look on Mr. Schuester's face had been priceless.

He just wished he could stand up to his bullies like that.

Blaine

Blaine wasn't surprised the school wasn't doing anything, but he was still pissed, because it reminded him of his old school and how nothing had been done after he'd been beaten up.

They were sitting on the bed in Kurt's newly finished bedroom while his dad was watching TV downstairs.

Kurt must have realized how tense he was, because he pushed him forward until he could sit down behind Blaine and started massaging his shoulders. Blaine gradually relaxed into his boyfriend's arms and leaned into his embrace once Kurt stopped his ministrations.

The sat together in silence for a while, before Blaine got up to retrieve his laptop from his room and Kurt picked a movie for them to watch.

Blaine raised his eyebrows in surprise when Kurt handed him Moulin Rouge, because they had already seen the movie more than once. "I thought we might want to not watch a movie," Kurt suggested shyly and Blaine put the DVD into his laptop before he pulled Kurt into his arms.

"What do you want to do instead?" he asked, aiming for seductively, and it must have worked because Kurt's lips were soon on his. Taking a chance, Blaine swiped his tongue over Kurt's lower lip, which caused Kurt to tense for a second, before he slowly opened his mouth.

Compared to Kurt, Blaine had kissed plenty of people, but he knew he had to take things slow with Kurt so he wouldn't scare him away. So he kept his tongue in his own mouth for the time being and bit down lightly on Kurt's lower lip, which caused his boyfriend to gasp. Encouraged by Kurt's reaction he finally allowed his tongue to dip into Kurt's open mouth and stroked his tongue. Fortunately his boyfriend was a fast learner and soon their tongues were tangled together while Christian tried to convince Satine to give him one night.

Wanting to take another chance, he slowly moved one hand from Kurt's cheek and put it on his boyfriend's waist, but like before Kurt immediately jerked away and Blaine apologized once again. He wished Kurt would just tell him what the problem was, because he didn't seem to have a problem with putting his own hands on Blaine's hips. Instead, Kurt just dove in again, trying to distract him with another kiss.

Blaine couldn't really focus anymore though, because Kurt felt even skinnier than the last time he had tried to put his hands on Kurt. Unfortunately, he knew by now that it was pointless to try to talk to Kurt about it. He had tried once, but Kurt tried to convince him that he was just stressed and that he was sure his appetite would return once things had returned to normal.

He didn't want to go behind his boyfriend's back, but he was seriously worried and so he knew he had to tell his dad if Kurt didn't gain any weight soon. He had been shocked when he had seen Kurt without a shirt a few months ago, but that had been because Kurt's parents didn't give him enough food. Now though, Kurt had plenty available, but instead of gaining weight he seemed to be losing it.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered, hoping Kurt would believe him and stop whatever he was doing. Kurt just gave him a fond smile.

"That's sweet of you to say, but I know I'm not. God knows what you see in me," he added, his eyes widening when he realized he had said the last part out loud.

Blaine rearranged his body until he was facing Kurt, and he could take his hands into his own. "I told you months ago, you are perfect to me and that is still true. You are smart and funny, you have flawless skin, and you have the prettiest eyes. And best of all, you put up with me. Trust me, I'm the lucky one," he assured Kurt, but his boyfriend didn't look convinced. He would just have to remind his boyfriend every day until Kurt finally believed him. Until then, he had to keep him away from people who were trying to tell him the opposite, trying to convince him he was worthless. Because Kurt was priceless to him.


	20. Chapter 19: Confrontation

Kurt

To say Kurt was nervous was an understatement. He knew he could do it – he and Burt had been practicing enough – but the guy he had to sit in a car with obviously didn't like him. He needed to pass that test though, so Burt would be proud of him.

"Go ahead then Mr. Anderson," the guy practically sneered and Kurt adjusted his mirrors one last time, before he slowly pulled out of the parking lot. He had already aced his written test – which was a joke – and now he just had to prove to this douche that he could survive on the streets.

It was snowing lightly as Kurt navigated the roads of Lima, following the man's instructions to a tee, trying to ignore the way he was looking at him and concentrated on the road. Finally they returned to the DMV parking lot, and he maneuvered the car into a spot between two others.

The man next to him was scribbling some things down as Kurt waited with baited breath, but finally he received a curt nod and Kurt knew he had passed.

"Take this inside to get your license issued," he was instructed as a piece of paper was thrust into his hand and Kurt pretty much jumped out of the car and hurried inside the building where Burt and Blaine were waiting for him.

Blaine immediately threw his arms around him when Kurt approached him with a huge smile on his face, before he was passed along to Burt, who hugged him tightly as well.

"I'm proud of you kiddo," he told him and Kurt had to turn away for a second to wipe the tears off his face. In all his life his own father had never told him that he was proud of him, and nothing could have made this moment better than this.

"I want you to be," Kurt whispered before he was pulled into another hug.

"Come on. Let's get this license so you can drive us home," Burt told him after Kurt was released once more, and they got in line to have his picture taken. His eyes were slightly red and his hair wasn't cooperating either, but Blaine assured him that while no one ever looked their best on their driving license, Kurt certainly looked good. Kurt just rolled his eyes because his boyfriend was such a suck up, but he would definitely not complain about it.

It felt amazing, driving his own car for the first time, Burt next to him because Kurt thought he deserved to ride shotgun after all he had done for him. He and Blaine had already agreed that they would alternate driving each other to school and Kurt couldn't wait to pull into the school parking lot in his own car.

Later that evening, when Blaine had left to pick up food for them, Burt asked him to join him in the living room.

"I really don't want to ruin your special day, but Mrs. Hoffs called," Burt told him and Kurt paled. Was that the moment when they told him he had to move somewhere else? Had they decided he had to move back in with his mom? Burt must have realized he had scared Kurt because he immediately added.

"It's nothing too bad. She just called to tell me they have finally fixed a court date for your father and you are required to testify."

Kurt gulped. He knew he had to recount everything his dad had ever done to him yet again, if he wanted his father to get punished for it, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"When?" he asked. "February 3rd," Burt replied and Kurt nodded. That gave him about two and a half weeks to prepare himself. "What about my mother? What's going to happen to her?"

"She'll have to go to court too at some point, because she enabled your abuser and she tried to keep the paramedics away from you. That's all I know at the moment," Burt told him and Kurt nodded again.

He didn't like thinking about her especially when he was trying to move forward and learn to forget what she had told him.

"Are you going to be okay?" Burt asked after a moment of silence and Kurt looked up to face him. "Yes, I will. Thank you, Burt."

He wasn't even lying this time, because he knew that in time he was going to be fine, all thanks to the Hummels and how much they cared about him.

Blaine

Blaine sighed as he put his phone down after receiving yet another threatening text from a blocked number. The message was always the same. ‘Keep your hands away from Anderson, or you're going to regret it’. Blaine knew there was only one person invested enough in his and Kurt's relationship who could send them, but unfortunately he couldn't prove it.

He probably should tell his dad or Kurt about them but he didn't want to worry them either. After all, as long as he made sure he and Kurt were never alone with Karofsky they should be all right. Kurt had enough on his plate already and knowing that Karofsky was threatening him, would only make things worse.

One thing however, he had to talk to his dad about. He had tried once more to bring the issue up with Kurt, who had deflected again, so he didn't have another choice if he wanted to help his boyfriend get better.

He found his dad in the garage cleaning his truck and Blaine hopped into the passenger seat so they could talk.

"What's on your mind, kiddo?" his dad asked and Blaine tried to put his thoughts in order.

"It's about Kurt."

"He okay?" Blaine shook his head.

"I don't think so. He's not eating a lot of times and he looks as skinny as he was when I first met him again. I tried talking to him about it, but he keeps telling me that it's just stress," he confided in his dad.

"I noticed, but I don't really know what to do about it either, other than making sure he always has enough food available to him," his dad admitted and Blaine sighed.

"I think maybe it's like an eating disorder, but I can't help him if he doesn't let me in. I just keep telling him, he looks good as he is, but I don't think he believes me," Blaine added, a blush staining his cheeks.

"I'll bring it up with his therapist. Maybe she has some ideas how to help him," his dad replied after a few moments of silence.

Blaine leaned over to hug his dad. "Thanks, dad. I really just want him to be healthy and happy," he whispered, hoping his dad would find away to make Kurt all better.

Kurt

"Do you know why I asked you to come in today?" Dr. Stine asked him, after he had sat down in the armchair facing her desk. Kurt shook his head.

"Your foster family is worried about you. I got a call from Burt Hummel saying his son is worried that you have an eating disorder."

Kurt frantically shook his head. He wasn't like one of those girls who shoved their fingers down their throats or starved themselves to death. He just ate healthy and small amounts to avoid getting fat.

"I don't," he assured her, but the doctor didn't look convinced. "Kurt, I have your hospital discharge papers, and I can see you weighed less the second time you were hospitalized than the first, though social services made sure there was enough for you to eat at home. I'm not judging you, I just want to understand what's going on."

Kurt debated for a moment. It wasn't like she could force him to gain weight, so what would be the harm of telling her why he needed to stay skinny.

"I just don't want to lose Blaine," he finally admitted and Dr. Stine looked at him curiously. "What makes you think you would lose him if you looked healthier?" Kurt looked away. "My mom used to tell me that I would have an even harder time finding someone if I was fat. And she was right, I did get fat after Blaine and his dad kept inviting me to dinner and we didn't have any healthy food at home," he whispered before he accepted a tissue.

"Kurt, we've talked about your father a lot so far, but I think it's time we spoke about your mother. It sounds to me like she was using every opportunity to make you feel bad about yourself. She used your insecurities against you. The truth is, you are underweight right now and you were underweight the first time you were hospitalized. You are not fat right now, but I know you won't believe me when I say that. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make you forget all the things your mother ever told you but I can't. It's going to take time. You have a good support system in place but they, like me, are not trained to deal with this kind of thing. So, if you let me, I'd like to refer you to a dietary specialist."

Kurt looked at her puzzled. "Someone who can help you gain some weight the healthy way so you won't feel like we are trying to fatten you up, but will still be more healthy. Can you promise me to at least think about it?"

Kurt nodded. The psychiatrist at the hospital had mentioned the same thing about his mother and rationally he understood what she had done to him. But it was easier said than done – letting go of the thoughts she had put inside his head.

But Burt and Blaine were clearly worried about him, and this was the last thing he wanted. He had to give it a try for their sakes as long as he wasn't ready to do it for himself.

He said goodbye to Dr. Stine half an hour later with the promise to call the specialist she had recommended. Before he drove home he looked at himself in the bathroom, but couldn't see what they were talking about. His tight jeans fit perfectly and his stomach was perfectly flat again.

He wasn't sure if he could do it – trust their opinions when he just spent thirty minutes listening to his therapist trying to convince him not to trust his mother's opinions – but he promised himself to at least try to listen to Blaine the next time he brought it up.

Blaine

Blaine was pacing nervously, waiting for Kurt to return from his therapist's office. He was hoping Kurt wouldn't be too mad that he talked about his weight behind his back, but he had run out of options and he couldn't risk losing his boyfriend over something like that.

He didn't expect Kurt to gain fifty pounds, but he never wanted to be able to count his ribs again.

Finally, he heard Kurt's car come up the driveway and he sat down on the living room couch, because his dad wasn't home and so far they had obeyed his rules.

Kurt looked deep in thought when he walked inside and he nearly jumped when Blaine cleared his throat.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked tentatively, dreading the answer, but to his relief Kurt shook his head.

"I could never be mad at you for caring and worrying about me, though I still think there is nothing to worry about," he replied and Blaine sighed. Of course it couldn't be as easy as having Kurt's therapist talk to him and everything would be okay afterward.

"Don't take this the wrong way Kurt. I don't think you don't look okay, but you are too skinny. You were doing great for a while, but then the thing with your dad happened and we went back to square one. I don't know what happened that made you think you had to starve yourself, but Kurt, you really don't have to. I really hope you don't think I'm so shallow as to leave you if you put on some weight," he tried to get through to his boyfriend, who sat perched on the edge of the couch.

He held out his hand for Kurt and fortunately Kurt let himself be pulled closer. Blaine pulled his arm around him and let Kurt cuddle up to him. "You really think I'm too skinny?" Kurt asked incredulously in a small voice and Blaine nodded.

"Your hips are so bony and you can practically see your ribs through your t-shirt," he explained, hoping Kurt wouldn't be offended. Kurt sniffled.

"I thought you would only like me if I were perfect."

Blaine pulled his crying boyfriend further into his arms and wiped his tears away with his thumb. "I've told you before, you are perfect to me. You don't need to change yourself into this version you think is perfect for me. I couldn't care less about your weight as long as you are healthy, and unfortunately, right now you aren't."

They both sat in silence for a few moments while Blaine listened to Kurt's heartbeat slow down again.

"Dr. Stine gave me the name of a food specialist. I've been thinking about calling him," Kurt broke the silence. "That's great," Blaine responded enthusiastically.

Kurt extricated himself from Blaine's embrace and turned to face him on the couch. "I'll try my best to get better, but you need to understand that this will probably take time. I'm going to slip up, and you will have to remind me that I'm not ugly or disgusting. And there will be days when I won't believe you, because I'm still working on getting over years of emotional abuse. So, I'll do my best, but I won't make any promises, I'm not sure I can keep. I hope this is enough for you."

Blaine was surprised to hear Kurt say the words emotional abuse, because he had never acknowledged before that that was what his mother had been doing. It was a step in the right direction. He wished Kurt could just accept his assurances, but he also understood what Kurt was saying. He might not have a degree in psychology, but even he knew that it was hard to get over an eating disorder.

"And I'll be with you every step of the way, I promise," he whispered before he planted a chaste kiss on Kurt's lips that soon turned into something less PG until a throat was cleared behind them and the two of them jumped apart.

"I brought dinner, and no, you can't have each other."

Kurt

Kurt Anderson wasn't one to skip classes, but when Blaine got slushied for the first time by some guys from the hockey team, Kurt decided that taking care of his boyfriend was more important than homeroom.

He turn around to give Blaine some privacy as he changed into one of Kurt's backup shirts, before helping him wash the slushie out of his hair.

"I'm so sorry," he told him again, but Blaine brushed him off. "It's not your fault Kurt. Karofsky hasn't much pull with half of the football team anymore, so he recruited the hockey team – that's nothing new."

Kurt knew that but he still hated that Blaine got slashed, because Karofsky was a jealous asshole.

The bell had already rung by the time they left the bathroom and walked over to Blaine's locker. The hallway was deserted so Kurt didn't protest when Blaine gently pushed him against it and connected their lips.

Blaine's lips still tasted like raspberry slushie and Kurt had to admit he didn't mind the flavor on his boyfriend's lips.

"Didn't I tell you to keep your hands of him," a voice suddenly growled and Kurt quickly turned around. Karofsky was advancing on them and Kurt tried not to show that he was scared. "So Hudson was telling the truth," the huge jock continued and Kurt felt the urge to do some unspeakable things to Finn Hudson for ratting them out.

"Kurt's my boyfriend, so fuck off. If I want to kiss him, I'm going to kiss him," Blaine shot back and Kurt grabbed his hand and held on tight. Now he wished they had just gone to class as soon as Blaine had finished cleaning up.

"He's mine," Karofsky growled. "I kissed him first. He knows he belongs to me." Kurt thought Karofsky must have lost his mind if he was ready to admit what he had done in front of Blaine.

"I don't belong to you," he yelled back, having had enough of always being the victim. "You know I never wanted it, but you kept forcing me, taking advantage of the fact that you are taller and heavier than me. You are disgusting."

By the end of his tirade Kurt was surprised no one had come running yet, but all that happened was Karofsky grabbing his left hand and trying to yank him away from Blaine. Kurt snapped and before he knew it, his right fist connected with Karofsky's jaw.

Then all hell broke lose.


	21. Chapter 20: Fallout

Blaine

Blaine took one step forward to pull Kurt out of Karofsky's grasp, but before he could, Kurt's right hand connected with the bully's jaw. Unfortunately, the big linebacker barely stumbled while Kurt was shaking out his hand and winced.

"You little bitch," Karofsky yelled at Kurt. "I should have beaten the shit out of you when I had the chance." The jock advanced once more, and Blaine saw Kurt flinch from the corner of his eye so he quickly put himself between his boyfriend and Karofsky. Pain exploded in his stomach as Karofsky's fist connected with it and his breath was knocked out of him. He sank to the floor with a groan, clutching his aching stomach.

Kurt's yell made him look up to see his boyfriend attempting to push the jock away, but Blaine knew before Karofsky even reacted that his boyfriend didn't stand a chance.

A loud noise echoed through the hallway as Kurt crashed into a locker and hit the floor as well. Blaine watched in shock as a few drops of blood trickled out of his split lip.

He was desperate to get to his boyfriend, but just as he was about to push himself off the floor, a kick to his ribs sent him back down and Blaine cried out in pain.

But it wasn't his cry that finally attracted an audience – it was Karofsky's. A trembling Kurt was standing over Karofsky who was kneeling on the floor and clutching his groin. For a second the only thing his brain could come up with was that Kurt would probably make a great kicker as well before footsteps coming toward them distracted him.

"Are you okay Blaine?" coach Beiste asked as she slowly helped him up. Blaine groaned, but nodded. His ribs didn't feel any worse than they had when Karofsky had tackled him on the field, and the pain in his stomach was manageable.

Shouting made him look over to where he had last seen Karofsky, and to his surprise the cheerleading coach was pulling the limping jock away from them.

"Let's get you two checked out by the nurse before we head to the principal's office," coach Beiste ordered and Blaine knew there was no arguing with her.

Thankfully, no students were out in the hallway, so Blaine took Kurt's swollen hand gently into his own and the two of them slowly followed the coach to the school nurse, who immediately starting fussing over Kurt when she saw the blood on his face

Once his boyfriend was cleaned up and got an icepack for his lip and the bruise already forming on his face, it was his turn and he winced when the nurse checked out his ribs to make sure nothing was broken.

"Stupid boys and their fighting," he could hear her muttering under her breath, but he didn't have the energy to correct her. As much as he had wanted to physically punish Karofsky he would have never thrown the first punch unless it was to defend himself.

Luckily, it was him and Kurt who had visible injuries so he hoped Karofsky wouldn't be able to talk himself out of this one, or that they would at least all get punished for fighting.

"Are they ready to leave?" his coached asked the nurse once Blaine had pulled his shirt down and Kurt had turned around to face him again. The nurse nodded and coach Beiste told them to follow her to principal Finggins office.

The office was already crowded from what Blaine could see. Mr. Schuester was standing next to the principal while coach Sylvester seemed to be involved in a shouting match with Karofsky.

He squeezed Kurt's uninjured hand lightly, before he leaned in to whisper: "Courage." They both needed to have some right now.

Kurt

Kurt tried to stay calm as he and Blaine followed the football coach to the principal's office, but he knew that with his track record at this school he shouldn't be surprised if he ended up the one being punished.

Karofsky lunged for him and Blaine as soon as they entered the office and it took both coaches to restrain him.

"That little fag kicked me," he yelled but upon receiving one of coach Sylvester's patented glares he immediately shut up.

"Language," she sneered at him and Karofsky actually cowered. Kurt allowed himself a brief moment to appreciate the turn of events until Mr. Schuester opened his mouth.

"Principal Figgins, we can't really blame Kurt for acting out - after all, violence is all he knows. I'm sure Emma has some pamphlets on breaking the vicious cycle that could help him deal with problems in a non-violent way. I'm sure he is sorry and it won't happen again."

Kurt gaped at him, because was he serious? He had expected to be blamed for the incident but to drag his past into this was just low. He abhorred violence, but in that moment he hadn't seen another way out of the situation. If he hadn't defended himself, who knows what Karofsky would have done to him and Blaine.

"Karofsky threatened him and we only tried to defend ourselves," Blaine exploded next to him before sinking down into a chair and clutching his stomach. Kurt was at his side in an instant, ignoring the yelling that was going on around him.

"Are you okay?" he asked and Blaine nodded.

"I just hate them so much," Blaine whispered close to tears. "Why can't they ever be on our side?"

Before Kurt could respond, the door was flung open and Puck charged in, followed by that big girl who was on the boys' wrestling team and was also the president of the AV club. Lauren something.

"You wanted proof, I got you proof," Puck yelled before he slammed a laptop on the principal's table.

"What is going on?" the principal asked, who clearly had no idea how to handle the situation.

"I asked Lauren to put cameras up in the hallway, so I could get you proof that that dick over there was hurting my boys."

Mr. Schuester jumped to his feet and glared at Puck. "Noah, this is illegal. You can't just put cameras up and film the students without their knowledge or permission."

Kurt didn't care about the other students in that moment, because when had they ever cared about him? If Puck had caught Karofsky threating them on tape, maybe then someone was finally going to believe him. Fortunately, coach Sylvester seemed to agree with him as she turned the laptop around so everyone could see and told Lauren to push play.

The picture quality was amazing and even the sound was clear. Kurt flinched when he saw on-screen Karofsky try to yank him away from Blaine, but he now also understood why Karofsky had barely flinched when he had hit him. He was surprised his hand was even bruised with how slowly his hand had connected with Karofsky's face.

Karofsky himself had gone pale the moment they had entered the screen and was now sitting with his head between his hands, but Kurt didn't have any pity left for him. He would have never outed Karofsky himself, but he had to admit the jock had brought this on himself.

"Take him outside," coach Beiste ordered and coach Sylvester grabbed Karofsky's arm and pulled him out of the office. The football coach then kneeled down in front of Kurt and gently asked a question Kurt didn't really want to answer.

"Kurt, what did you mean when you said he forced you?"

Kurt paled and pushed Blaine's hand away when he was reaching out for him.

"I, I. Can I go to the bathroom real quick?" he whispered and coach Beiste nodded, while Mr. Schuester tried to tell them that wasn't a good idea, because they still had things to talk about.

Luckily, the coach ignored him.

"Sure. Take Blaine with you. We'll be here when you are ready to talk."

The last thing Kurt heard before walking out of the principal's office, Blaine trailing behind him, was coach Beiste pretty much ordering principal Figgins to call the police and Kurt shrunk even further into himself, because this was the last thing he wanted to deal with.

People were already talking in the hallway, most of them watching something on their phones and Kurt whirled around to face Lauren who had left the office after them.

"Did you show the video to anyone else?" he hissed and Lauren's shoulder's slumped as well.

"I had to give Jacob access to my feed in exchange for providing me with the equipment," she explained and Kurt shuddered because he knew that meant nearly everyone in school knew by now what was going on.

He kept his head down as he and Blaine were walking close to each other – but not holding hands – to the slushy bathroom. But Kurt knew it didn't matter anymore if he and Blaine held hands or not. By tomorrow everyone would know they were dating anyway.

To his surprise no one was pointing at him though as he passed his classmates, though he could hear Karofsky's name mentioned a lot. Finally, he and Blaine reached their destination and Kurt collapsed as soon as the door closed behind them.

"You okay?" Blaine asked and sat down beside him on the floor, wincing slightly when the movement upset his ribs.

Kurt shrugged. He wasn't sure what he was feeling. Yes, there was a sense of relief that the truth was finally out, but he also dreaded the repercussions. Would Karofsky's jock friends blame him for turning their teammate gay? Or would Karofsky get away with his behavior yet again, because Kurt had thrown the first punch?

He was confused, scared, angry and relieved all at once and if he could he would hide out in the bathroom with Blaine forever. Unfortunately, he would have to return to reality sooner or later and face whatever had been discussed in the principal's office in his absence.

He was pulled out of his internal freak out by Blaine's soft lips on his cheek and Kurt turned his head to capture his mouth, hissing however when his split lip protested.

"You ready to go back?" Blaine asked after a beat and Kurt shook his head. "No, but when have I ever gotten what I wanted?" he remarked sarcastically causing his boyfriend to pout.

"You got me though," he reminded him and Kurt squeezed his hand. "That I did. Come on, let's face the music."

Kurt offered Blaine his uninjured hand and pulled his boyfriend off the floor, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, courtesy of the locker shove. The hallway was empty again, fortunately, as classes had resumed and Kurt and Blaine slowly walked back to principal Figgin's office, holding hands as there was no one around who could object.

Blaine's dad was inside with a woman in a police uniform who looked vaguely familiar. Kurt wondered how much time he and Blaine had spent in the bathroom, for Burt to get to the school so fast.

He let himself be pulled into a tight embrace before he was released so Blaine could receive the same treatment.

"Go lie down in the nurse's office," Burt instructed his son. "Officer Hanson needs to talk to Kurt and needs me here because he is a minor."

Blaine looked like he was going to argue but Kurt shook his head. He had never told his boyfriend the extent of Karofsky's harassment and didn't want him to find out before Kurt was ready to tell him himself.

So he followed Burt and officer Hanson, who he now remembered from his Sectionals stay in the hospital, into an empty classroom, where she put Lauren's laptop on the teacher's desk.

"Am I in trouble?" Kurt asked warily but the officer shook her head. "I think you can claim self defense on that one." Kurt exhaled slowly, a weight lifted off his shoulders for a moment until the cop continued.

"I'm not here to talk about the physical altercation. Can I ask you to elaborate on what you accused Mr. Karofsky of in this video?"

Kurt gulped, his eyes flickering from Burt to officer Hanson. "Do you really need me here for this?" Burt asked, apparently realizing how uncomfortable Kurt was. The police officer nodded.

"We didn't question Kurt in the presence of a parent the last time I talked to him, because we suspected both parents were involved in his abuse, but this is different," she explained before she turned to Kurt.

"From what I remember you said the last time we spoke that some of your bruises came from your father, but not all of them. Who gave you the other bruises, Kurt?"

Kurt played with the hem of his shirt before he answered. "I don't know all of their names, but mostly from members of the hockey and football team, but not the whole team," he added quickly. "The football guys in our Glee club actually protect me from Dave Karofsky. He is the worst of them," he admitted and Burt squeezed his shoulder, causing Kurt to flinch.

He quickly waved him off when Burt asked if he was okay and let the police officer continue her questioning.

"And he is the one in the video?" she asked and Kurt nodded, still avoiding to look at her.

"Why did you need protection from Mr. Karofsky?" Kurt finally looked up at her and took a deep breath.

"Dave and I have been going to school together forever, and as long as I can remember he had it out for me. The older we got, the worse his behavior got. It's like it's his mission to make my life a living hell. Ever since we started high school, he's been throwing me into the dumpsters in front of the school, pouring slushies all over me, shoving me into lockers or tripping me up. And then there is of course the name-calling. I never really understood what I had done to make him so angry until one day last year," he explained.

The officer nodded. "What happened that day, Kurt?"

"He cornered me in the boy's locker room and started taunting me. I tried to get away, because I thought he was going to beat me up, but he pinned me against a locker and wouldn't let me leave. And then he kissed me and told me he liked that I was struggling to get away. And he, he," another deep breath, "he pressed himself against me and he was enjoying it," Kurt whispered.

Burt looked shocked while the officer kept writing things down in her notepad. "Did anything else happen that day, Kurt?" she asked in a soothing voice.

Kurt shook his head. "Someone came into the room, so he pushed me away and told his friends I was creeping on them and needed to be taught a lesson. I managed to get away before he could hurt me."

He hadn't realized he was shaking until Burt took his hand and held it tight while the officer asked her next question.

"And was this the incident Mr. Karofsky referred to in the video?"

Kurt shrugged. "I don't know which time he meant. He told me I should be happy at least someone was actually interested in me and that he would come back for me. It was at the end of sophomore year, and it didn't happen again until school was out, so I thought it had been an empty threat but it actually got worse this year. He cornered me a few more times, touching me against my will, and kept leering at me in the hallway when he thought no one was watching him. Before Christmas, he told me I would come crawling to him soon, playing with my insecurities, but I told him yet again, that I didn't want him, but he wouldn't listen. And when he found out Blaine and I were dating, he threatened to beat us up when he ran into us while we were on a date, so Mr. Hummel had to come and get us. Ever since, he had been threating Blaine as well until he found us today," Kurt finished his story, thoroughly exhausted.

He hoped to god that he would never have to recount this part of his past again, because he just wanted to be done with it once and for all. He was so sick of constantly being a victim but he had no idea how to change things. Yes, he had managed to defend himself against Karofsky, but for what price? Now the whole school would know that he had been sexually harassed by the school bully and he would be once again, poor defenseless Kurt Anderson – if people were nice about it.

"Can I take my boys home now?" Burt broke the silence they had fallen into after Kurt ended his confession. Officer Hanson stopped scribbling into her notepad and looked at Kurt.

"Is there anything else I should know for now?" she asked and Kurt shook his head. "Okay then. I'll keep in touch," she told them before snapping her notepad shut and leaving the room.

"Kiddo, why did you never tell anyone about this?" Burt asked and Kurt could see he was trying hard not to show his anger. Kurt sank deeper down into his chair.

"I'm just not used to people caring about me," he mumbled "and who would have believed me if I'd said that a popular football player was coming onto the school fag."

"Don't call yourself that," Burt growled and Kurt fliched. "Sorry," Burt apologized, "but I don't want you calling yourself that. I might not be able to force other people to stop using it, but I don't want you to demean yourself. There's nothing wrong with you or Blaine no matter what society or the people in this poor excuse for a school might try to tell you."

Kurt looked at Burt with tears in his eyes. He never really wanted to hide who he was, but there had still been days when he had wished he were straight, because everyone was constantly telling him how wrong his 'choices' were and how he would go straight to hell. Not that he believed in hell, but it still hurt.

He nodded quickly and they left the classroom after Burt had hugged the shit out of him. He didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but what he knew was that with Burt he finally had an adult in his corner, and it made him so happy he nearly started to cry again.

Blaine

His dad had taken them out of school for the rest of the week, though in Kurt's case he wasn't allowed to go to school anyway, because the school board had pressured the principal into suspending Kurt for starting a fight. They hadn't heard about Karofsky's fate yet, but Blaine was hoping he would receive proper punishment for what he had done to Kurt over the years.

His ribs still ached and so he and Kurt spent most of their time on the living room couch watching Disney movies, to distract them from what had happened at school. He wanted to make sure Kurt was okay, even though his boyfriend had assured him multiple times already that he was okay now that he had finally stood up to his tormentor, though he wished he didn't have to resort to violence, which he abhorred.

Friday morning found them in front of the TV again, watching Tangled, when Blaine asked a question he had wanted to ask for the past few days.

"So, how mad are you about Jacob releasing this video?" he asked, but to his surprise Kurt just shrugged.

"I'd be mad if he had outed Karofsky just for the fun of it, but in this case he did bring it on himself. I just wish I had realized earlier that Karofsky gave up his right to privacy the moment he tried to force his tongue down my throat," Kurt replied and Blaine could feel him shudder in his arms.

He quickly leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to Kurt's lips to replace the awful memory with a hopefully nice one.

"I'm glad you see it this way as well now, but that's not what I meant," he explained after a second, less chaste kiss. Kurt looked at him questioningly.

"Are you worried about people knowing that we are dating? I know you wanted to keep it a secret at school," he rephrased his question.

To his relief Kurt shook his head. "To be honest, I'm kind of relieved we don't have to hide anymore, and to be fair people have always talked shit about me, and I think it's time to tell them fuck you."

Blaine raised an eyebrow, because he was sure he had never heard Kurt curse this much before, but he fully agreed with the sentiment. As long as talking was all people did, he could deal with it. Hopefully, Karofsky had at least been suspended as well, and it had sent a message to the rest of the bullies. Maybe it was stupid and naïve to get his hopes up, but he really wanted this to be okay.

When Kurt picked at his food later that night, neither he nor his dad said anything, but it told him that Kurt was more anxious than he let on. He really hoped, things would turn out all right once they went back on Monday, because he had realized by now that Kurt was even more prone to not eating when he was worried about something.

Like the nights before, his dad tried to corner him before he went upstairs and this time he wasn't fast enough. Resigned he sat down on the living room couch and waited for the lecture or whatever his dad wanted to talk about to start.

"How long have you known about this?" his dad asked, still visibly upset from what he had heard at school. Blaine assumed he meant the forced kisses, as his dad had already been aware of the bullying to some extent.

"Since New Year's Eve," Blaine admitted "or probably before Christmas but then I still thought it was consensual," he added.

"And why the hell didn't you tell me about that?" his dad nearly yelled and Blaine's shoulders slumped. He hated making his dad angry, but he had only done what Kurt had asked of him.

"Kurt asked me not to tell and I was protecting him after all," he explained, but even to his own ears it sounded stupid now.

His dad sighed. "I know you want to think of yourselves as grownups who can handle whatever life throws at you yourselves, but you are not and sometimes you have to let a grown up handle it. Would you have kept your mouth shut as well, if Kurt had told you something even worse had happened, but begged you not to tell anyone?"

Blaine shuddered at his dad's implications and frantically shook his head. "No, of course not. I wouldn't be protecting him if I helped him keep something like this a secret."

His dad raised an eyebrow at him and now it was Blaine's turn to sigh, because of course his dad was right again. By not saying anything, he had basically helped Karofsky to continue unpunished and who knew if the situation might have escalated if the confrontation in the hallway hadn't happened.

"You are right," he admitted. "I should have told someone or talked Kurt into telling someone."

His dad lightly squeezed his shoulder. "Listen, I understand that you don't want to go around telling Kurt's secrets put please in the future tell me if there is something bad going on. I'd rather Kurt was angry with us than really got hurt."

"I promise. No more secrets," Blaine vowed because he wanted nothing more than keep Kurt safe. So far he hadn't really succeeded in doing that, but he was resolved that he would do better in the future.

Like his dad said, they were still young and had a lot to learn.

Kurt

Kurt wiped his sweaty palms a few times on his jeans before he climbed out of his car and helped Blaine out of the passenger seat, a clear reversal of their roles a few months back, before slipping his hand into Blaine's.

"Ready?" he asked and Blaine nodded. Together they walked over to the front entrance were they were welcomed by half of the football team and Karofsky's best friend Azizmo. Kurt tensed, when Azizmo stepped forward.

"I heard what my buddy Dave did to you and I wanted to say that that was not cool. If he'd done something like that to my sister I would have made sure he can never have kids," he added as Kurt gawked at him. "So, um, yeah sorry dude for not realizing why he was so crazy about going after you," the big football player shrugged, before he turned abruptly and went inside, followed by the rest of the football team.

"Did Azizmo Adams just apologize to me?" Kurt asked a stunned looking Blaine.

"Maybe we are still asleep and this is some weird dream," Blaine offered and Kurt snorted

"And just how often do you dream about the football team, Blaine?" he asked, causing Blaine to blush and then turn pale. "Not like that, I swear," he stumbled over his words and Kurt patted his shoulder.

"I was joking Blaine. Relax."

Maybe he should reconsider the Cheerios thing now that he knew that Blaine apparently had a thing for boys in uniforms, though he knew he wasn't ready to wear a tight fitting outfit like that. He was working hard on getting 'better', but 'better' meant he would never fit in one of those outfits. Blaine had promised not to leave him if he got fat, but he'd rather not test this theory when he was trying to be sexy in a cheerleading uniform.

The whole day went better than he had expected. Sure, people were talking about them, pointing at them, and some said some not so nice things, but they actually got a few thumbs up from some giggling freshmen girls.

Puck grabbed his arm before he and Blaine could walk off to the library for lunch, and Kurt reluctantly let himself and Blaine get dragged inside the choir room.

"What's up?" he asked, trying to hide his irritation over being manhandled like this, but Puck just smirked.

"My mole in juvie," don't ask Kurt told himself, "told me that Karofsky spent two days there, but then his mom got him a good lawyer who tried to convince a judge that you were a liar who couldn't proof shit."

"So they let him go?" Kurt asked dejectedly but Puck grinned even wider. "Nope," he said popping the p. "They sent him to reform school instead to finish his junior and senior year there. And from what I heard about those schools, juvie is the much nicer option. I should know, I'm familiar with one of those institutions," he added and Kurt rolled his eyes before Blaine grabbed his face and kissed him deeply, right in front of Puck.

Puck didn't look disgusted however and just offered Blaine his fist for a fist bump, which Kurt allowed with another roll of his eyes.

"This is good news, right?" Blaine asked after Puck had left the room and Kurt nodded.

"Hopefully it will do him some good. I'm just glad I don't have to constantly look over my shoulder anymore."

Just than the speakers creaked over their heads and coach Sylvester's voice rang out. "Listen up. Your fellow student Dave Karofsky just got expelled for bullying other students – if you don't want to join him, keep your paws to yourselves. I'll be watching you," she threatened and Kurt's face lit up with a smile, because with a little luck, the rest of the bullies would leave him alone now too out of fear of getting kicked out of school.

"Do you think it will be better now?" he asked Blaine. His boyfriend shrugged.

"I don't know, but I really hope so. We both deserve a little break."


	22. Chapter 21: Kurt Anderson vs The State of Ohio

Kurt

Kurt was lying on his bed, trying to work his way through a biology assignment a week after he and Blaine had returned to school, when there was a knock on his door.

"Kurt, can you come downstairs please. Mrs. Hoffs is here to talk us through the court proceedings," Burt called out and Kurt closed his book with a sigh. He wasn't too keen on having to testify against his parents in court, because he just wanted to forget the past and move forward.

Still, he followed Blaine's dad downstairs and sat down opposite Mrs. Hoffs on the couch.

"Kurt, how are you honey?" she asked once he was seated and Kurt smiled at her. "I'm good now," he answered truthfully. Yes, there were still issues he was dealing with but he was already doing much better than he had only four weeks ago.

"Good. Now let me explain what is going to happen. The court will hear your parents' testimony the day before they summoned you. Someone from the program your mother is in will testify as well that day to report on her progress and a psychiatrist will tell the court his assessment of your parents."

Kurt nodded. He had already been informed that he didn't have to listen to his parents if he didn't want to and he was glad they didn't force him. He was still undecided on whether he wanted to hear what their excuses were or not, but he still had a few days to decide.

"We are expecting a prison sentence for your father, though the court will have to decide which degree they are going to apply. Basically that means he could get as little as six months or the maximum sentence of ten years depending on the judge's ruling."

Kurt nodded again. Surprisingly he didn't seem to have a problem with his dad being sent to jail, though he thought that ten years was a bit much. But he wasn't a lawyer and didn't know what people got for other crimes.

"What about my mom?" he asked, because surely they wouldn't send her to prison for being mean.

"Your mother's case is more tricky. Basically the court will decide on one of two things. What has happened so far was that you were placed in temporary substitute care and your mother was provided services that should help her become a fit mother. The PCSA, that's us, decided on appropriate substitute care, which in your case are the Hummels. The purpose of this placement was to remove you from threat of danger while allowing your mother the opportunity to correct the circumstances which contributed to or caused the abuse or neglect. Do you understand?"

Kurt nodded once more but he didn't like were this was going. "And the other option?" he asked, his mouth suddenly dry.

"If the court determines that your parents cannot or will not provide the care necessary to ensure your healthy physical and emotional development, parental rights will be terminated and you will be allowed to stay in the Hummel's care, with the option of getting adopted."

Kurt looked at Burt who had been following the conversation in silence so far, but was now clutching one of the throw pillows rather tightly.

"You don't mean to say he could be sent back to that horrible woman?" Blaine's dad asked her, obviously trying to remain calm. Kurt paled himself, because he hadn't thought that was even an option.

"Well to quote the PCSA's stance – 'Ohio's child abuse and neglect laws are not intended to punish but, instead, to help the family. Primary emphasis is placed upon preserving the family.' Now, I don't necessarily agree with that in all cases, but yes, the judge could very well decide that Mrs. Anderson has put in the necessary work and could send Kurt home with her until his eighteenth's birthday."

Kurt's head was spinning. He didn't want to go back with his mom. They had tried that once and it hadn't worked out, so why would it now? He was only just beginning to understand what his mother had done to him, and the last thing he needed was being placed under her harmful influence again.

"I don't want to go back," he whispered. "Please don't send me back. Can't I just get emancipated?" He was probably clutching at straws but he wouldn't go back, he just couldn't. He'd rather run away and hide out somewhere till May than move back in with his mother.

Mrs Hoffs sighed. "Unfortunately, in Ohio a minor can only get legally emancipated if he or she joins the army or gets married. Because Ohio doesn't recognize same-sex marriage that's also not a possibility for you, so as long as you don't plan to join the army within the next few weeks, you will have to wait for the judge's ruling."

That all had to be a nightmare, Kurt decided, from which he would wake up any minute, because it couldn't be true. Just as he had gotten rid of Karofsky something else was trying to destroy his life.

"But shouldn't they care about what I want if their job is to protect people like me," he spat angrily.

"In my opinion they should and I hope they will, but in the eye of the law you are still a child and therefore not allowed to make the decision like you would if this were a divorce case," Mrs. Hoffs explained and he was glad to see she wasn't happy with the law either. After all, he was nearly eighteen – he should be able to decide where he wanted to live when he had a place to stay.

He must have said the last part out loud because Mrs. Hoffs spoke up once more. "Well, Kurt. Right now the Hummels are your foster family, which means they get money from the state for you. That's why it's not really your decision."

"Damn right it is his. Do you think we care about the money," Burt yelled, fists clenched. "We care about Kurt's wellbeing and if a judge sends him back, well then he doesn't care at all."

"I understand your frustration, Mr. Hummel. Trust me I do, but if the court rules in Mrs. Anderson's favor, he can't stay with you. He would be removed from your house should you let him stay and you might end up being the one in trouble with the law."

Burt looked ready to explode and though Kurt was fucking pissed as well, he knew he had to make sure Burt didn't do something stupid.

"It's okay, Burt," he whispered. "I hope I can stay here, but if I can't I know it's not your fault. And it means a lot to me, that you want me here whether you get paid for it or not."

Blaine's dad seemed to relax a bit and Kurt took that as his cue to flee to the safety of his bedroom – as long as he still had it. "If this is all, I'll probably see you in a few days," he told Mrs. Hoffs, who nodded, before making a beeline for the stairs.

Upstairs in his room, he threw himself on the bed and buried his head into his pillows before dissolving into tears.

Blaine

Blaine was furious after his dad had recounted the social worker's visit, and he was angry he hadn't been there for Kurt because coach Beiste had kept them at school to discuss the rest of the season.

As much as he wanted to punch something though, he knew it had to wait. According to his dad, Kurt had run to his room, before Mrs. Hoffs had even left and had refused to come out so far.

He grabbed a tube of ice cream from the freezer and made his way upstairs before knocking on Kurt's door.

"Kurt' it's me. Can I come in?" he called out and after a few moments Kurt's muffled okay came through the door.

His boyfriend was lying face down on the bed and when he looked up Blaine could see he had been crying.

"I brought ice cream," Blaine announced before he cringed, because what was he thinking bringing Kurt, who was still struggling with food, something like that? To his surprise Kurt accepted a spoon though.

"Your dad told you." It wasn't really a question but Blaine still nodded. "I'm so sorry Kurt. God, I hate this state," he exclaimed angrily before he moved closer to Kurt, allowing him to lean on him.

"Me too," Kurt replied in a small voice. "It's like someone has a personal vendetta against me."

Blaine rubbed Kurt's back, careful to stay away from his hips because he knew Kurt still didn't like being touched there or on his stomach, hoping to comfort him, though to be honest he needed some comfort himself. He didn't know what he would do if Kurt got hurt again, because some judge was being stupid. God, he hoped the judge wasn't secretly homophobic and sent Kurt back out of spite.

"We should just run away together," Kurt joked after a moment of silence – at least he hoped he was joking because as Blaine knew by now, running away rarely solved any problems.

"What would we even do?" he asked though, entertaining the thought for a moment as well. Kurt shrugged. "I always quite liked 'On the Road'."

Blaine chuckled, trying to imagine him and Kurt sleeping in open train compartments or outside in a barn.

"Probably not the best idea. What about New York though? We'd find us a small but cozy apartment and I would play piano in a hotel bar while you would star in your first role on Broadway."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "That's a no to running away then. But what if they send me back?"

"Then I'll be there for you every step of the way. And as soon as you are eighteen you can move back here. I know my dad wants you here as well," he told his boyfriend sincerely before swallowing another spoonful of ice cream. He gave Kurt an encouraging smile when he dipped in his spoon as well, grateful for the food specialist Kurt was seeing in addition to his weekly meetings with his therapist.

"Thank you," Kurt told him a while later – ice cream long gone and the credits for 'Love Actually' rolling down the screen.

"You don't have to thank me or my dad for doing the right thing. We both lo- care about you a lot and don't want you to get hurt."

He hoped Kurt hadn't noticed his near slip up because they had barely been dating a month and saying the L word was probably a bit too soon. Though he was pretty certain that what he felt was love. Not that he had ever been in love before, but he assumed that was what it felt like.

But Kurt just smiled at him, his eyes filled with – dare he say – love, and Blaine snuggled up closer to him.

"Regardless of what's going to happen – we'll get through it together," he promised, fully intent on keeping his promise.

Kurt

In the end, Kurt had decided not to go and witness his parents' testimonies. He had heard them say enough hurtful things to last a lifetime and he doubted they had suddenly changed their tune. Burt and Blaine fully supported his decision and Kurt was grateful for it.

The three of them were sitting outside the courtroom, waiting to be called in, and Kurt was clutching Blaine's hand as tightly as possible. Finally, Mrs. Hoffs approached them and they followed her inside, sitting down behind the lawyer for the prosecution.

Once he was seated between Burt and Blaine, he dared a look over to where his parents were sitting, His dad looked older than his forty-six years and when he caught Kurt looking at him, he averted his eyes. Kurt quickly looked away as well and focused his attention on his mother, but she was keeping her head down.

To his surprise, Mr. Schuester, coach Beiste and coach Sylvester sat down behind him, next to the doctor who had treated him in the hospital the first time and the psychiatrist he had spoken to after his accidental overdose.

Burt was the first to take the stand and he was asked to recount what had happened after their Sectionals performance. His mother was full out glaring at Burt and Kurt moved closer to Blaine. Afterward, Burt was questioned about Kurt's parents and he told the judge that by the time he had figured out that more than bullying was going on, it had already been too late.

A smile graced his face when Burt reaffirmed that he loved having Kurt at his house and would gladly let him stay as long as Kurt wanted.

Blaine changed places with his dad then and Kurt was surprised to hear how early on in their friendship Blaine had felt uneasy about Kurt's home life. Apparently he hadn't been able to hide things as well as he had thought.

Kurt was shocked when Blaine told the judge about New Year's Eve because he hadn't known all the details for some reason. He couldn't believe how cruel his mother had been that afternoon and it made tears well up in his eyes.

When he looked over to her, she looked plenty remorseful, but Kurt didn't buy it for one second, especially after seeing how she had acted during the social worker's visit.

His hands were shaking when he himself was called up and he shakily took a seat. He was glad he wasn't forced to put his hand on a bible for his oath, because if there really was a god, he must be a huge jerk in his opinion.

Kurt had to take a few breaks during his questioning, either for water or tissues, especially when he was asked to talk about his childhood memories. He had never put much thought into his past, always focusing on surviving the present, and it suddenly hit him for how long his parents had made his life a living hell.

Court broke for lunch after he was finally done with his story, and Kurt collapsed on a bench outside, mentally exhausted. Without any conscious thought he refused the sandwich Burt had bought for him, but eventually he took a few bites to appease Blaine. His stomach churned though and he had to fight the urge to throw it straight up again.

Most of the break was spent with Blaine's arms around him and he ignored the stares from other people in the building, even though some even pointed at them, because he needed the comfort Blaine's arms provided him.

Once break was over, they returned to the courtroom and coach Beiste took the stand.

"Ms. Beiste, you are an educator at William McKinley High School, the school Kurt Anderson attends. Have there been any signs that made you suspect the boy was mistreated at home?" she was asked, and the coach paused for a moment.

"This is my first year at McKinley," she replied, "and I had notice when I saw Kurt in the hallways that he was withdrawn and shied away from contact. However, I became aware soon that he was bullied at school, so I thought his behavior was attributed to that. I kept an eye on him afterward because I wanted to keep him safe and I must admit I expected him to get better after his father was removed from his home, but that was not the case. He seems much happier lately though, so if you ask me, let that boy stay with the people he is with now."

The coach left the stand and sent an encouraging smile in Kurt's direction and Kurt smiled back at her, grateful to have some teachers at McKinley who cared about him.

Mr. Schuester was up next and from the corner of his eye he saw Burt glare at his teacher.

"Mr. Schuester. Would you say you know Kurt better than other teachers at your school." The choir teacher nodded proudly and Kurt, Blaine and Burt rolled their eyes.

"It says here, you had been in contact with Mr. Anderson before the event discussed before. What impression did you have?"

Mr. Schuester shifted in his chair. "Well, he seemed rather angry when I told him Kurt was in my Glee club. He said some not so nice words about my club, but a lot of people don't like the arts," he defended himself.

"And when you talked to Kurt Anderson about the phone call, you still didn't suspect something was going on?"

Now Mr. Schuester really looked uncomfortable. "Well, it did seem a bit strange that his father reacted so strongly, but I didn't think it was my place to tell a parent how to deal with his child. And Kurt didn't say anything either."

"Some kind of teacher," Burt muttered next to him and Blaine nodded on his other side.

"Are you aware Mr. Schuester, that as an educator you are mandated to report any suspicions of child abuse?" the judge asked and Mr. Schuester shook his head. "You can't really expect me to alert authorities every time a child is a bit weird."

"Just for future reference Mr. Schuester – and I would really advise you to educate yourself – it is a misdemeanor not to report suspicions of child abuse," the judge lectured and Kurt saw Mr. Schuester pale. The choir teacher was by no means the worst teacher McKinley had, but for someone who thought he had to be included in discussions of every single one of his glee club kids, he had surprisingly little insight, Kurt thought to himself.

He tuned out for a bit, as the doctor explained his injuries, showing x-rays of older injuries Kurt had passed off as accidents before he had learned to take care of them on his own. Blaine looked rather pale though and Burt's hands were clenched into fists. He was glad they didn't know how much he had been able to hide when he stopped going to the hospital for fractured bones and injured ribs because it was already hard enough for them as it was.

His mother looked outraged when his psychiatrist took the stand, trying to interrupt a view times until the judge threatened her with a fine, which promptly shut her up. It only strengthened his belief that she didn't think she had done anything wrong, and wasn't likely to change any time soon. He just hoped the judge would see it the same way and would let him stay with Blaine and his dad.

He took a look around the courtroom after the hospital psychiatrist had finished, but he couldn't think of anyone else they could question. Court wasn't adjourned however and Kurt was interested in finding out who else would have to testify.

"The court calls Cooper Anderson."

Kurt and the two Hummels shared a look – because who the hell was Cooper Anderson?

 

* * *

 

A tall man with dark hair and eyes that reminded Kurt of his own approached the stand, but Kurt was sure he had never seen him before.

"Please state your name and date of birth." "Cooper James Anderson, born March 16th, 1983," the stranger replied, but Kurt still had no clue what he was doing here.

"And what is your relation to Mr. Paul Anderson?" The stranger looked up and glared at Kurt's dad. "He is my father."

Kurt gasped and Burt and Blaine looked shocked too. How could he not know he had a brother or half-brother or whatever? The point was, why had his parents hidden him from Kurt.

"Your parents are divorced, is that correct?" the judge asked and the stranger – Cooper – nodded. "Why did your mother leave your father?"

"Because he hit me when he drank too much." At that point Kurt had expected something like that to come, but he was still surprised because he had always thought his father had abused him because he was gay, because he was different, because he wasn't the son he wanted. Cooper though looked like a perfect son, so it really threw him for a loop.

"My mother never reported it, because she let it happen for a while and she was afraid to lose me, if she did report it. You have to understand though, my mother was sixteen when she had me, my father eighteen. She didn't know about the abuse at first and when she did she was afraid to leave him because she had no education, no job and a seven year old. But had I known he would do it again I would have said something sooner," Cooper continued before he looked in Kurt's direction and their eyes met for the first time.

Kurt smiled at him tentatively, to tell him he didn't blame him for not speaking up, because he hadn't either. But he understood why Cooper might feel guilty because he would feel the same if he found out his dad had another kid after Kurt moved out, and abused the kid because Kurt had kept his mouth shut.

"Mr. Anderson," the judge continued, "in case we decide to terminate your father and stepmother's parental rights would you be able to become Kurt's guardian until he comes of age?"

Kurt sat up straighter. He may have never heard of his half-brother before, but if he couldn't stay at the Hummels, he would probably still be a better option than his mother. To his relief though the young man looked slightly guilty and shook his head.

"I mean if there is no other option sure, but I just found out I had a brother a few days ago and I live in California. Kurt's case worker told me he was staying with a nice family now and was really happy there so the last thing I would want is disrupt his life even more and take him with me to California."

Kurt frantically shook his head, hoping the judge would get the message. He had only a couple of months of his junior year left and as much as he hated McKinley, he didn't want to have to change schools now, where he would be completely alone again and worst – Blaine would be thousands of miles away.

"Alright, thank you Mr. Anderson."

His half-brother left the stand and then walked over to where Kurt and the Hummels were sitting. "Mr. Hummel?" he asked Burt who nodded. "If it's all right with you, I'd love to talk to Kurt when we are done here. I think we have a lot of catching up to do."

Burt looked at Kurt questioningly and Kurt nodded. He was curious about this mysterious brother as well.

"Why don't you come over for dinner at our house," Burt suggested. "Are you staying in town?" Cooper nodded.

"Mrs. Hoffs put me up in a hotel in Lima," he whispered when the judge cleared his throat.

"Court is dismissed. I will inform you of my decision tomorrow morning at nine. Have a good day."

Burt gave Cooper their address and Kurt and the two Hummel men piled into Burt's truck.

"Are you okay, kiddo?" Blaine's dad asked and Kurt shrugged.

"I think I'm in shock or something?" he admitted. "I mean how could I not know I had a brother? Did my mom know I had one? Did they hide him because they were afraid I would run off to find him if they told me?"

There were so many unanswered questions and he hoped Cooper would be able to shed some light on them.

As soon as they reached the house, Burt and Blaine excused themselves into the kitchen under the guise of making dinner, leaving Kurt alone with Cooper in the living room.

"So you are twenty-eight and live in California?" Kurt asked once they were seated in the living room, at loss for where else to start. Cooper nodded. "How old where you when you and your mom left?"

"I was eight," Cooper replied. "Coincidentally my mother only really found the courage to finally leave him when she discovered he was having an affair with your mother," he added.

"And you really never knew about me either?" Kurt asked curiously. Cooper shook his head.

"When my mother told her parents what had happened they agreed to let her move back in, into their new house in Florida. They told her to send him divorce papers and tell him to never contact us again if he wanted to avoid being questioned by the police. He sent them back and that was the last we heard of him. I knew there was always the possibility that he would remarry and have more children but no, I didn't know about you until I was contacted a few days ago by Ohio social services. Apparently they've been trying to find family members for a while and when she called I promised to fly up and testify against him after I told her about my past."

Kurt gave Cooper another onceover. He was wondering what Cooper's mother looked like because apart from the fact that they had nearly the same eye color there wasn't much of a resemblance. He had grown taller the past year, but Cooper still had a couple of inches on him and his hair was black instead of Kurt's light brown hair.

"Mrs. Hoffs said you'd only need a temporary guardian. How old are you?" Cooper asked after eying Kurt as well. "I'll be eighteen in May," he replied.

"Oh, so you are a senior. Any plans for next year? I'm an actor out in Hollywood so if that's something you are interested in you should come out. I could introduce you to people."

Kurt shook his head. "I'm only a junior and I want to be on Broadway if I do anything acting related. I love to sing," he added.

Cooper made a face and for a moment Kurt thought he was just another asshole who thought his voice was too girly for singing. But to his immense relief Cooper apparently just wasn't a Broadway fan.

"You should still come out to L.A when you are done with school. Nobody needs college and theater is dead. If you want to be successful you have to go to L.A," he explained.

Kurt wasn't sure what to make of that, because he had never heard of Cooper Anderson before, even after months of movie education with Blaine, so he couldn't be that successful.

"Is there anything I could have seen you in?" he asked curiously.

Cooper nodded. "I've been doing a lot of commercials lately. Very successfully. And I'm hoping to get an audition for the new Transformer movie."

"That's great," Kurt told him as enthusiastically as possible. "So you understand why I can't just move back here and take you in, right? I really need to stay in Hollywood right now if I want to make it on the big screen."

Kurt nodded. "Like you said. I like living with Blaine and Burt. I've known them since I was a child and I really don't want to lose them right now."

At that moment, Burt and Blaine entered the living room, carrying a huge amount of Chinese take out. Blaine sat down next to him and snuggled up closely and Kurt could see Cooper's eyebrows go up.

"So this is why you don't want to move," he remarked and Kurt tensed. "Relax," Cooper chuckled. "I think you are adorable, but I have to say, if Mrs. Hoffs hadn't pointed you out to me, I would have thought it was Blaine who was my brother."

Kurt looked from Cooper to his boyfriend and had to admit he had a point. There was a lot more resemblance between those two than between him and his half-brother.

Kurt saw Blaine side-eye his dad who shook his head. "Don't even go there, kiddo. I'm way too young to be his dad. Just because I'm bald doesn't mean I'm ancient," he joked causing all three of them to laugh.

"Let's just eat for now and then Cooper can tells us all about him," he suggested and even Kurt dug in with more appetite than he had in the past few weeks, until he remembered that they still had to wait for the judge's decision and he quickly lost it again.

"So how long are you in town for, Cooper?" Burt asked after they had cleared their plates.

"I need to be back in L.A for an audition next week, but if it's okay I'd like to stay till then, get to know Kurt a bit better," he addressed Kurt who nodded.

"I'd really like that," he told his half-brother.

As it was getting late, Burt convinced Cooper to spend the night at their place so they could drive to the court together – Cooper hadn't checked into his hotel yet, so he had spare clothes.

Falling asleep that night was difficult and he woke himself up screaming an hour later from a nightmare that featured his mother torturing him and social services just watching from the sidelines.

Shakily he went over to Burt's bedroom and knocked on the door. After Burt's muffled 'come in' Kurt stepped inside, hugging himself to stop himself from shaking.

"Are you okay, kiddo? Can't sleep?" Kurt nodded. "I'm sorry to bother you but I had a really bad nightmare. I just don't want to be alone right now," he whispered, cursing himself for acting like a baby over a stupid dream.

Burt sighed. "You wanna stay with Blaine?" Kurt nodded tentatively. He didn't want to break the house rules, but he was afraid to go back to sleep alone.

"Fine, but just this once, all right? And keep the door open. I trust you, but I've been a teenage boy too once."

Kurt blushed, grateful that the darkness was hiding it. "Thank you. I promise, all I want is to sleep with someone close by."

Quietly, he walked over to Blaine's room and knocked once before slipping inside. "Kurt?" Blaine mumbled sleepily. "My dad…"

"It's okay. He said I could stay, unless you don't want me to," he replied hoping he wasn't overstepping or something.

Blaine, in response, just moved over to the other side of the bed and patted the right side. Kurt gratefully slipped under the covers next to him trying to get comfortable.

They had fallen asleep together before on top of the covers, but that was different. He wasn't sure what one was expected to do if one shared a bed with a boyfriend.

He swallowed hard before turning to Blaine. "Can you just hold me?"

Blaine opened his arms and Kurt settled with his head on Blaine's shoulder while Blaine's arm curled around him.

He slept through the night without being woken by a nightmare again.

* * *

 

When Burt woke them up the next morning he quickly tried to untangle himself from Blaine, but Burt didn't even bat an eyelid. "Coffee's ready. Come downstairs when you're dressed."

Blaine groaned but disappeared into his ensuite bathroom, while Kurt took the other one next to his room. When they came downstairs, dressed for court again, Cooper was already up, talking to someone on the phone, but he didn't look too happy.

"They cancelled my Transformer audition. Apparently, they mistook me for Anderson Cooper who the would be thrilled to have for a cameo appearance," he complained and Kurt gave him a sympathetic smile because he knew what it was like to not get a chance for something even if your audition went well.

"I'm sorry. Maybe you can send them a tape anyway to show them what you can do," he suggested and his half-brother visibly perked up.

"That's a great idea. Thanks Kurt."

Kurt was cuddled up to Blaine again on the drive to the courthouse, even more nervous than he had been the day before.

They rose when the judge entered the room and Kurt clutched Blaine's hand.

"After careful consideration I have decided to terminate the parental rights of Sally and Paul Anderson," the judge announced and Kurt pressed his hands against his mouth to stop himself from squealing or doing something equally embarrassing.

His dad didn't show much emotion, probably having expected it, but his mother started cursing the judge, asking him who the hell he thought he was to tell her she was an unfit mother.

Another threat of a fine, shut her up again and the judge continued. "Sally Anderson, how do you plead to the charge of fifth degree child endangerment?" His mother raised her head and proudly stated. "Not guilty."

The judge nodded. "I'll sentence you to one year in prison in a low security facility. The sentence can be commuted after six months if you take part in programs decided by social services and show the will to improve yourself."

Kurt looked at the judge in surprise because he honestly hadn't expected a jail sentence for his mother, but after what he had heard about New Year's Eve, he knew he shouldn't be too surprised. And although he had still been uneasy about his mother's sentencing days earlier, he knew now that she was probably never going to change and didn't care about him at all, so he was okay with the judge's decision, who turned to his father in that moment.

"Paul Anderson. How to you plead to the charge of third degree child endangerment?" he asked. Kurt's father looked first at him and then at Cooper with an unreadable expression before he replied. "Guilty, your honor."

Kurt's jaw dropped because he had not expected that at all. "Hearing my older son's testimony made me realize that I had indeed been in the wrong and I accept my sentence," he continued to the surprise of many people in the courtroom as far as Kurt noticed.

It was the closest to an apology Kurt had ever gotten and he didn't know what to do with that. In legal dramas on TV, suspects often pleaded guilty so they would receive a lesser sentence, but his father didn't look like he was faking his remorse and he had never been a good actor to begin with.

"Paul Anderson, I sentence you to five years in a low security facility. A parole hearing will be possible after four years served."

His father just nodded, but Kurt quickly turned back to the judge. "Kurt Anderson will remain in the care of Burt Hummel until his eighteenth birthday. Should he decide to move out on his own afterward he can apply for financial support from the state. Case closed."

Blaine beamed at him and before Kurt knew what was happening he pressed a quick kiss to his cheek right in the middle of the courtroom, but Kurt was too elated to care about what other people thought.

He was free. He could stay with the Hummels. He had found another family member who was supportive of him. His parents were getting punished for what they had done to him.

He wanted to scream and shout and jump around. For once something good had happened in his life and he needed to celebrate.

"We should have a party," he announced, "with the rest of ND. No use hiding that I'm living with you anymore," he added when Blaine looked skeptical.

"He's right," Burt interjected. "It's about time we had a welcome to the family party."

Burt

Once the last members of his boys' glee club had left the house, Burt sat down with Kurt in the living room. Kurt's new brother was already packed up and ready to fly back to Los Angeles the next morning and they had discussed the possibility of Kurt – and maybe even Blaine if he felt comfortable enough sending his boys to Hollywood unsupervised – visiting him during spring break.

Kurt looked exhausted but happy when he sat down opposite Burt on the living room couch.

"How are you?" he asked hoping the party hadn't been too much. Nearly all members had shown up, though Carole's son had been noticeably absent. Their relationship had become a bit strained once he had found out about Finn's involvement in the Karofsky incident, but they were working on it and Carole had promised to have words with Finn.

"I'm good. They all took it surprisingly well and seemed to be happy for me," Kurt answered with a smile on his face.

"Speaking of welcoming you to the family. You know you can legally become a member now if you want," he told Kurt though he was sure of Kurt's answer before he even said it.

As expected, Kurt shuddered. "Can you imagine what people at school would say about me if they found out I'm dating my brother?"

"Well, just know - legal family member or not, you will always have a home here with us, whether you and Blaine are together or not. I had that conversation with Blaine before you started dating and I stand by it. This is your home now as long as you want it."

There were tears in Kurt's eyes and Burt crossed the room to pull him into a hug.

"Hey and who knows maybe you'll be my son one day anyway," he joked, though he hoped at least a few more years would go by before either of his boys thought about marriage.

Kurt pressed his damp cheek against his flannel shirt before he whispered. "I really hope so. Every child would be honored to have a dad like you."

Well, now it was his turn to turn on the waterworks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a lawyer and I've only been to Ohio twice. All I know is what I learned from my research...


	23. Chapter 22: A New Direction

Kurt

"What are we going to do now? Regionals are in three weeks," Rachel moaned and Kurt patted her head when Puck spoke up.

"I know Shelby is back in the mid west and she isn't coaching Vocal Adrenaline right now. I could ask her if she'd coach us until Mr. Schue gets back, unless that's a problem for either of you?"

Blaine leaned in closer to whisper into his ear. "So, I know Shelby Corcoran is Rachel's biological mother, but what does she have to do with Quinn?" Kurt shrugged. 

"Did you forget that I didn't have any friends at this school until a few months ago?" He caught Quinn's eye who had watched the exchange. "I didn't tell him anything, I don't know anything," he told the girl who could be scary as hell, but she rolled her eyes.

"Alright, listen up newbies. Shelby is Rachel's bio mom and she adopted my daughter Beth last year. I think it's a great idea for her to come in to help us, and it wouldn't be awkward for me because Puck and I have been in contact with her. Now stop staring."

Apparently this wasn't news to anyone else in the club and it was quickly agreed to contact Ms Corcoran and ask her to replace Mr. Schuester while he was gone.

_A few days earlier…_

" _Gather 'round guys," Mr. Schuster instructed them a few days after Cooper had gone back to L.A._

" _I've recently been made aware that I haven't always been the best teacher and so I have decided to take some time off, maybe take some classes and reevaluate if teaching really is the right thing for me."_

_Kurt looked up in surprise, but Santana looked immensely pleased. "I can't believe principal Figgins finally listened to my complaints. No offense Mr. Schue, but your Spanish sucks. How do you expect us to learn anything, if half of your students know more Spanish than you do?"_

_Mr. Schuester's face turned bright red. "This is not what this is about, but thank you Santana for pointing it out. Now, I'm sorry to abandon you before Regionals, but Ms. Howell – Pillsbury has agreed to act as faculty advisor to keep the club going. I'm positive you'll do well at Regionals – in fact I have the perfect song for Rachel."_

_The club broke out into another argument over Mr. Schuester's blatant favoritism of Rachel – and apparently also Finn before Blaine had transferred – and Kurt moved to the back of the choir room, pulling Blaine with him, to get away from it._

" _That's a surprise, isn't it?" Blaine asked once they were seated next to each other and Kurt nodded. "Seems like he took what the judge said to heart. To be quite honest, I'm glad someone else is going to be in charge for a while. I haven't gotten to sing a single song since my line at Sectionals, and maybe now that he is gone, all of us will have a chance to be appreciated," he replied, trying not to sound too judgmental._

_It wasn't even that he had a problem with Rachel and Blaine singing a lot, but he felt that many others in the club were underappreciated and deserved more than just swaying in the back._

" _I'd give you a solo if it were up to me," his boyfriend was quick to assure him, "because I love to hear you sing. You're amazing." Kurt's whole face lit up at the praise and after making sure the rest of the club was still involved in an argument with Mr. Schuester, he quickly leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to Blaine's lips._

"… so it's settled. We'll try to get Shelby and if she refuses to do it, we'll just have to do it like the Warblers – decide on the songs together," Rachel explained before everyone packed up their bags and left, leaving Rachel with Kurt and Blaine.

"You sure that's not going to be weird for you either?" he asked his friend when they were walking toward the front door, but Rachel shook her head.

"I spent some time with my therapist last year when I found out about her, and he helped me realize that there is room for her in my life – just not as my mom."

"Our families are weird," Blaine chuckled and Kurt had to agree, especially now that he really was a member of the Hummel family.

They said goodbye to Rachel at Blaine's locker, but were stopped when they were getting ready to leave as well.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Finn called out to them and Kurt felt Blaine tense next to him.

Blaine

Blaine turned around slowly and tried to keep the scowl off his face. Finn hadn't really talked to anyone in the club since the Karofsky video had gone viral, probably to protect himself from Santana's wrath, so it came as a surprise he was trying to reach out now.

"What do you want Finn?" he asked, clutching Kurt's hand tightly. Finn shifted from one leg to the other. 

"So you know that my mom and your dad are kind of dating, and my mom got really sad when Burt wouldn't see her because of me. So I figured I'd talk to you so she would be happy again."

Blaine looked at Finn in surprise, but he was glad to know he really cared about his mother.

"So talk," Kurt told him, his glare less pronounced. He and Kurt both knew that his dad really liked Finn's mom and if Finn was willing to act less like a douche around them, he might get behind the relationship for his dad's sake.

Finn opened and closed his mouth a few times before he finally told them what was on his mind.

"I wanted to apologize," he turned to Blaine. "I talked to my mom and she made me realize that I was jealous of you and so I took it out on you. Before you came along, I was the male lead in Glee and Mr. Schuester always gave me the male competition solos. I know I'm not the best dancer and shit, but I knew I was one of the reasons we always won."

'Really, Finn?' Blaine thought but he kept his mouth shut, though that was one of the most ridiculous things he had ever heard. The only reason, Finn had been the leader was because no one else had wanted the job when the club started out – according to Artie – and Mr. Schuester's apparent man-crush on Finn – according to the rest of the club. But now was not the right time to get into that, because Finn was talking again.

"And I didn't like that some guys on the team were listening to you instead of me, because I'm the quarterback."

Again, Blaine kept his mouth shut to prevent himself from insulting Finn, because the only reason he had spoken up in the first place was, because Finn really wasn't the best at football either.

"I understand. But what about Kurt? What had he ever done to you?" he asked angrily, because that had always been his biggest issue with Finn.

Finn looked really uncomfortable when he turned to Kurt and Blaine wrapped his arm around his boyfriend to keep him calm.

"I didn't mean for Karofsky to try and hurt you. I didn't know he was like that as well," he tried to defend himself, but Kurt quickly interrupted. 

"You mean gay," he asked in a sickly sweet voice that caused Finn to shudder, though he still dared to nod.

"Well, isn't it ironic then that you always joined his side so people didn't think you were one of us."

Finn's shoulders slumped. "People wouldn't have respected me anymore if I went against him," he argued, but Blaine shook his head. 

"The people that really count would have respected you more. Who do you think you are going to stay in touch with when high school is over – the people who are nice to you because they think they have to or the people who like you because you act like a decent person? You already lost your girlfriend over this – do you want the only people who accept the real you to abandon you as well? Because there has been talk about kicking you out of the club now that Mr. Schuester is gone."

"You wouldn't do that," Finn cried out, looking afraid all of a sudden. “You need me to be able to compete." Blaine just shrugged. "I'm sure Santana can force one of her Cheerios to lip sync and sway in the back for Regionals."

"I said I'm sorry, what else do you want from me?" Finn pleaded and Blaine shared a look with Kurt.

"I want you to make sure the team leaves Kurt and I alone. I want you to be on our side, like the rest of the Glee guys. And in exchange I'll tell my dad that Kurt and I support him dating your mom and tell the Glee club to lay off. Because I know you like singing as much as we all do, and I don't actually want to take something away from you you actually care about if you can behave like a decent person around us. Do we have deal?"

Maybe blackmail wasn't the right way to go. But now that he knew that Finn cared about his mom's happiness as much as he cared about Glee, it was easy to use that knowledge to ensure Kurt's safety at school. So yeah, it wasn't the most honorable thing to do, but it was for a good cause and that was what mattered.

Finn seemed to contemplate the offer for a moment before he nodded.

"Great. I'll talk to my dad, when we get home," Blaine announced before turning around and pulling Kurt with him.

"I can't believe you just blackmailed the quarterback into being nicer to me," Kurt chuckled, as they were driving back home. 

"For what it's worth, I didn't just do it for your sake. I was really getting fed up with how he was treating me for no apparent reason, and my dad did seem happy when he was going out with Finn's mom."

From the corner of his eye he could see that Kurt was studying him. "What?" he asked when he had to stop at a stop sign and turned to Kurt.

"I'm just wondering if it's weird for you that your dad is dating someone again?"

It wasn't really if he was honest to himself. After all, he was the one who had encouraged his dad to put himself back out there, because he didn't want his dad to be all alone once he left for college. He still missed his mother, but it had been ten years since she had passed away and both he and his dad deserved to be happy.

"No, I'm happy for him," he told his boyfriend after getting his thoughts in order. "Do I wish, Carole wasn't Finn's mom – hell yes – but if she makes him happy, I'm not going to stand in the way of his happiness."

Kurt smiled at him fondly. "I love you," he whispered and Blaine was certain he would have hit the breaks hard if he were still driving.

"You do?" he asked, because he couldn't really believe that he had heard right. Kurt nodded. 

"But it's okay if you can't say it back. I understand."

Blaine's heart broke a bit for Kurt, who was trying to act all nonchalantly, but wasn't very successful.

"But I do. I mean, I love you too. I've been wanting to tell you, but I wasn't sure if it wasn't too soon," he admitted and before he could say anything else, Kurt leaned over and pressed his lips against Blaine's.

Blaine lost himself in the kiss, until a car honking its horn behind them made them pull apart. Blaine scratched the back of his neck and put the car back into drive.

"Maybe we should continue this at home," he joked, but when he dared a glance at Kurt, his boyfriend was still staring at his lips.

"I knew there was a reason why I love you. You have the best ideas."

Kurt

"Alright everyone. I want each of you to step forward and sing the first line of the National Anthem. Unfortunately your former teacher wasn't one for utilizing all the voices he had available so I have only heard a few of you sing before, but I need to know what you can do if we want to win Regionals. We have two and a half week, but if we work hard we should be able to beat those other choirs."

Barely five minutes into Glee rehearsal and Kurt already loved Shelby Corcoran. He knew Blaine had been sad at first when they had found out that the Warblers were their competition for Regionals, but after he had spoken with his friend David – who had told him that meerkat face had pulled some strings and was now in charge of the Warblers – the council abolished – he was as determined as the rest of New Directions to beat them at Regionals.

To be honest, Kurt wanted a different kind of revenge. He wanted to show Sebastian that Blaine belonged to him and that he would never get Blaine, no matter what he tried to do. But if he didn't get the chance to do that – he would gladly settle for beating his ass during the competition.

With Shelby Corcoran they had a former Vocal Adrenaline coach – a consecutive four time national champion – so he would say there chances were pretty good.

One after another they stepped forward and sang for Rachel's bio mom, who was scribbling notes into a notebook while they were singing.

"Alright, thanks everyone," she told them once the last one had sung. "I have some songs I've been wanting to do for a while. I'll go through my notes to see who I think will sound together best, and we'll give the songs a try tomorrow. I'm open for suggestions of course, but we don't have much time left for a big discussion."

Kurt practically skipped out of rehearsal that afternoon, because he had done quite well in his opinion. His good mood went as far as agreeing to split a cookie with Blaine at the Lima Bean and even finished his half this time. They'd have dance practice for the next two weeks anyway, which should help him get rid off the empty calories he had just consumed.

"Have you talked to your dad about Spring Break yet," he asked his boyfriend when they were walking hand in hand back to the car through the thankfully empty parking lot.

Blaine nodded. "He said he'll think about it and threatened to have another talk with us." Kurt shuddered. He really wanted Blaine to come with him when he visited his half brother in Los Angeles for Spring Break, but he wasn't too keen on another 'pseudo sex talk'.

He and Blaine were nowhere near ready to do anything like that anyway – not that he knew too much about it in the first place – and that wouldn't change just because they spent a week together in another state with little supervision.

Cooper hadn't struck him as the type who would be on their case constantly and he thought it would be nice to have a lot of time to spend with Blaine without any other people around. It was nice to have people who cared now, but sometimes Burt's constant hovering and needing bodyguards in school was exhausting. Los Angeles sounded like a more accepting place and it would be nice to walk hand in hand with his boyfriend on the streets without constantly having to fear people's reaction to it.

He sighed. "If that's what it takes to have you there with me, by all means. It sure can't be worse than last time."

This time Blaine shuddered next to him. "You have no idea, Kurt. He could bring pamphlets again.  _Pamphlets_. I still can't eat toast without thinking about them."

Kurt chuckled. "Some day, you'll have to tell me the story. It must have been quite traumatic, if it made you swear off toast completely."

Blaine was still nodding frantically by the time they reached the car and Kurt took Blaine's keys because he honestly wasn't sure his boyfriend should drive right now.

"You are laughing right now, but just wait until he does it to you. They we'll see who's laughing," Blaine muttered darkly.

Kurt promptly shut up, because he really, really liked toast.

Blaine

Before he knew it, two weeks had passed and Regionals was fast approaching. He hadn't been too happy when it was first announced that the Warblers would be their competition – though it wasn't really unexpected given that they had won their Sectionals as well – but once he found out that Sebastian was 'Captain' of the Warblers now, he couldn't wait to beat them.

He couldn't really understand how David and Thad had let that happen, especially David who knew what Sebastian had said to Kurt in the Lima Bean. For the first time since his transfer, he was actually glad not to be part of their group anymore and it saddened him to see what had become of the Warblers.

On a happier front, he was ecstatic that Ms. Corcoran had okayed Kurt's song suggestion and had even given him the main part after Kurt had explained to her why the song was important to him. He couldn't be prouder of his boyfriend for taking charge and taking a stand against those who still saw him as a helpless victim. Those people clearly knew nothing about Kurt.

Kurt looked less pale than last time when they were waiting backstage, and Blaine suspected it was because he actually had permission to participate in the competition this time around. His dad was in the audience somewhere, having brought Finn's mom as his date, after Blaine had upheld his end of the bargain and so far Finn had also been trying hard to uphold his own end.

"Are you ready?" he asked Kurt, when the MC announced them as the first show choir to perform tonight and Kurt nodded, before he put on his show smile and stepped out on the stage, followed by the rest of the club. Blaine's eyes were trained on his boyfriend when he opened his mouth, so proud to be able to share this moment with him.

**Kurt**

_This is a story about control, my control_

_Control of what I say, control of what I do_

_And this time I'm gonna do it my way_

_I hope you enjoy this as much as I do_

_Are we ready? I am? Cause it's all about control_

_And I've got lots of it_

 

_When I was 17, I did what people told me_

_Did what my father said, and let my mother mold me_

_But that was long ago_

**Quinn, Santana**

_I'm in control, never gonna stop_

_Control, to get what I want_

_Control, I got to have a lot_

_Control, now I'm all grown up_

**Quinn**

_First time I fell in love_

_I didn't know what hit me_

_So young and so naive_

_I thought it would be easy_

_But now I know I've got to take..._

**Santana, Brittany**

_I'm in control, never gonna stop_

_Control, to get what I want_

_Control, I got to have a lot_

_Control, now I'm all grown up_

**Artie**

_That's right, I'm on my own,_

_I'll call my own shots, thank you_

**Kurt**

_Got my own mind_

_I wanna make my own decisions_

_When it has to do with my life, my life_

_I wanna be the one in control_

**Artie**

_So let me take you by the hand_

_And lead you on this dance_

_Cause what I've got is because I took a chance_

_I don't wanna rule the world_

_Just wanna run my life_

_So make your life a little easier_

_When you get the chance just take..._

**Puck, Finn**

_I'm in control, never gonna stop_

_Control, to get what I want_

_Control, I got to have a lot_

_Control, now I'm all grown up_

**Puck**

_Free at last, out here on my own_

_Now control this_

**Mike**

_That's right, career moves_

_I do what's right for me_

_And me wants to groove_

_Is that ok?_

**Kurt**

_Got my own mind_

_I wanna make my own decisions_

_When it has to do with my life, my life_

_I wanna be the one in control_

Blaine gave Kurt a little push forward at the end of the song, because no one deserved the spotlight more in this moment than his amazing boyfriend. He spotted his dad in the audience, giving them all a standing ovation and Blaine beamed at him, though he wasn't sure his dad could even see it.

The music changed then, and the rest of the club retreated to the back, leaving the stage for him and Tina. He had been surprised when Ms. Corcoran had suggested he'd duet with Tina on a mashup of Lady Gaga's 'You and I' and a song he had never heard before, but he had to admit that she was right after their first rehearsal – their voices really worked together well.

Rachel had been disappointed she hadn't been picked as his duet partner, but her bio mom had explained that she wanted to shake things up and give the judges performers they hadn't seen paired up before.

Luckily, their performance went off without a hitch as well and the rest of the club joined them again for their final number – a personal favorite of his.

The lights dimmed before each of them was covered by a single spot.

**Ensemble**

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Six hundred minutes,_

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Moments so dear_

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Six hundred minutes_

_How do you measure, measure a year?_

_In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights_

_In cups of coffee_

_In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife_

_In five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Six hundred minutes_

_How do you measure a year in the life?_

_How about love? How about love?_

_How about love? Measure in love_

_Seasons of love_

_Seasons of love_

**Rachel**

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Six hundred minutes_

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Journeys to plan_

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Six hundred minutes_

_How do you measure the life_

_Of a woman or a man?_

**Puck**

_In truths that she learned_

_Or in times that he cried_

_In bridges he burned_

_Or the way that she died_

**Ensemble**

_It's time now to sing out_

_Tho' the story never ends_

_Let's celebrate_

_Remember a year in the life of friends_

**Ensemble, (Mercedes)**

_Remember the love_

_(Oh you got to, got to)_

_Remember the love_

_(Remember the love)_

_Seasons of love_

_(You know love is a gift from up above)_

_(Share love, give love, spread love)_

_(Measure measure you life in love)_

_Seasons of love_

_Seasons of love_

Mercedes finishing off the song made his breath catch in his throat like it had every time in rehearsal, because she just sounded amazing and he could easily imagine her in an actual performance of 'Rent' on a Broadway stage.

The crowd cheered when they took their final bow, most of them up on their feet and Blaine pulled Kurt into a tight hug, because regardless of whether they won or not, this was one of the most enjoyable performances he had ever been part of. They had truly become a team in the past few weeks, focusing on their performance as a group and the result had been great in his opinion.

The rest of New Direction hurried out into the audience to watch the performance of the second glee club, but he and Kurt took a detour to their green room for a few bottles of water for the team. They were stopped by a familiar but, not at the least welcome voice.

"Hey killer."

Blaine felt Kurt tense next to him and he quickly took his boyfriend's hand into his own to show him there was nothing to worry about here.

"Still hanging out with your little charity case, I see," Sebastian remarked and Blaine had to fight the urge to punch him again.

"I see they let you back into the country. People got fed up with you in France as well?" he shot back and for a moment Sebastian actually looked uncomfortable. Apparently he had hit a nerve. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't say stuff like that about my boyfriend," he added and from the corner of his eye he saw Kurt smirk when Sebastian's face fell.

"You are dating him? You told me repeatedly you weren't interested in a relationship."

Blaine chuckled darkly. "Turns out I just wasn't interested in a relationship with you. Now if you excuse us, we'd like to get into the audience to see my friends perform. I'm just hoping you haven't completely destroyed the group."

They left Sebastian standing there, gaping after them, but suddenly he was pressed against a wall, in Sebastian's full line of sight, and kissed senseless.

"What was that for, not that I'm complaining?" he asked once he got his breath back under control and they were picking up bottles in the green room.

"Oh, just a little reminder for Sebastian what he is missing out on," Kurt smirked and Blaine gave him a fond smile. If they hadn't already exchanged I love yous he would have probably blurted it out in that moment, because Kurt had come so far from the shy teenager who wouldn't let anyone come close to him.

They only caught the tail end of the choir on stage before the Warblers but they both shared a look at the weird costumes and song choice as they settled into seats close to the rest of ND.

The Warbler's performance was surprising to say they least – it was overly sexual, though Blaine was glad the dancing was taking the focus off Sebastian's singing. It was clear he had been the one who decided which songs they were going to perform and who would perform them and Blaine felt bad for all his talented friends who still didn't get a chance to really shine even though he was gone now.

The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur and before he knew it, they were gathered around their trophy in the green room, taking turns taking pictures with it.

Ms. Corcoran took them out for a celebratory dinner afterward and immediately launched into discussing their strategy for Nationals, but for once Blaine didn't pay any attention, keeping his eyes on Kurt, who was celebrated and praised by his friends. He gladly took a step back and let Kurt bask in the spotlight for once, because this time it was good attention he was receiving.

He always wanted to keep the smile on Kurt's face and so he knew what his next mission was – get his dad to agree to let them both visit Cooper in L.A for spring break


	24. Chapter 23: California Dreaming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally in three parts so it's a long one.

Kurt

The day after their win at Regionals, Burt summoned him and Blaine to the living room, and though he was dreading the conversation, he quickly hurried downstairs.

"So Spring Break is in two weeks and I know the two of you want to go visit Cooper together," Burt addressed them, once they were seated next to each other on the living room couch and both Kurt and Blaine nodded.

"Alright, first things first. If I let you drive down, you have to promise me to make the trip in two days so I don't have to worry about either of you falling asleep at the wheel, especially Kurt."

They both nodded again, because after looking up how long it would take them to drive to L.A – more than thirty hours even if traffic was good – they had agreed to spend the night somewhere along the way - if Burt let them go.

It would have been easier and faster to just fly down, but Kurt didn't want Burt to pay for an expensive plane ticket for him just so he could spend some time with his brother. Gas money he could work for at Burt's shop, but a plane ticket was just not something he could afford just yet.

"And secondly?" Kurt asked apprehensively, because Blaine's talk about pamphlets had made him a bit paranoid.

Burt sighed, before taking his cap off and rubbing his head. "I gotta tell you, I'm not sure it's a good idea to let the two of you go to L.A unsupervised."

Blaine looked like he wanted to protest, but his dad quickly silenced him. "I know Kurt's nearly eighteen and you aren't a kid anymore either, but I've been your age once too, and I know how it is with hormones and stuff."

Kurt cringed and he could feel his face turn red, but Burt soldiered on, ignoring his discomfort.

"It's completely normal to have urges, but I just want you to think with your brains here, okay. You've barely been dating for three months and though I'm sure you care a lot for one another I want you to be sure about what you are feeling before you, ah, act on those urges. Also, legally, Kurt's your foster brother till he turns eighteen, and I don't want him taken away from us because of your relationship.""

Next to him Blaine buried his head in his hands and Kurt felt tempted to put his fingers in his ears and start singing. He was seriously starting to reconsider if having Blaine with him was worth all that. Especially, if it could cause trouble with social services. Unfortunately, Burt still wasn't finished.

"Just because I'm not there to check up on you, shouldn't make you take advantage of it if you catch my drift." Kurt nodded mechanically. He wanted to assure Burt that was not their intention at all, but his voice apparently was stuck in his throat at the moment.

"Good. Blaine you can go. I need to talk to Kurt for a moment." Kurt glared at his boyfriend, when he had the audacity to smirk when he looked at Kurt before he left him alone. He shifted in his seat, avoiding to look at Burt.

"I'm guessing not much has changed since I went to school, and you are still not getting more than a birds and the bees talk?" Burt asked once Blaine's door shut upstairs, and Kurt nodded, keeping his eyes on his hands in his lap.

"And your parents probably haven't talked to you about this either?" Burt went on and Kurt shook his head again, because they sure hadn't unless being called a 'cocksucker' counted.

"Kurt, please look at me." Kurt took at deep breath, before he looked up and faced Burt. "You'd think, because I've done this before it would be easier, but this isn't the most comfortable talk for me either, okay? So let's get this over and done with and then I'll let you and Blaine plan your trip."

Kurt's face brightened, because that sounded like Burt was giving them permission to go together after all.

"Sex, it's not just about having fun, it's about connecting with someone special on a deeper level and while your body may tell you that you are ready for it, that doesn't necessarily mean that you are ready emotionally. Because it changes you, it changes your relationship, and you should be sure you are really ready for that."

Kurt nodded, because he understood what Burt was saying. He was a teenage boy after all, but even if his body often screamed at him to get closer to Blaine when they were kissing, he knew he wasn't ready to act on it. He still had issues with his body he was working on, and as long as he couldn't trust Blaine with that, than he sure as hell wasn't ready to be intimate with him.

"Ideally, you'd wait until you have at least finished high school and are out of my house," Burt added with a wink, "but like I said, I've been your age once too and so I don't want you to make any promises that I know would be hard to keep."

Kurt nodded, because apparently he wasn't capable of doing anything else right now.

"Is that all?" he finally asked, hoping that he could escape to his bedroom soon, before Burt said something emotionally scarring.

Burt told him to wait for a second and Kurt sank back against the couch. So far that hadn't be too bad.

Unfortunately, Burt returned with a stack of pamphlets and Kurt sighed. It would have been too good to be true if he could have escaped that. "I'm not an expert when it comes to the mechanics of what you are going to do – one day – so I got you the same pamphlets I've gotten for Blaine. He assured me they were quite informative. So I want you to read them and come to me if you have any questions, okay?"

"S-sure," Kurt stuttered out, secretly already planning to stash them in the deepest corner of his wardrobe when he got back upstairs. Puck had sent him a link to one of those movies not too long ago, and he had opened it not knowing what it was at first. The ten seconds he had watched had been awkward enough, so he could do without some graphic illustrations.

"Alright then, you can go. Do you want me to make you some-"

"No toast," Kurt interrupted making a face and Burt looked at him puzzled.

"Okay," he replied, one eyebrow raised, but Kurt fled the room before he had to explain.

In his room, he removed one of his show boxes and stuffed the pamphlets inside. He had barely managed to shut the door of his closet when there was a knock on the door, and Blaine poked his head in.

"You still alive?" he asked, still smirking and Kurt picked up a pillow and threw it at Blaine, narrowly missing unfortunately.

"Fine, you win. It wasn't so funny when he was talking to me," he conceded. "Just be glad that I love you and want you with me in L.A."

Blaine's smile brightened. "So we can go?"

"We can go."

Blaine tackled him in a bone crushing hug that made Kurt lose his balance and he fell backward on his bed, taking Blaine with him.

A throat cleared behind them, and Kurt struggled to get out from under Blaine, his face bright red when he faced Burt who was leaning in the doorway.

"Maybe I should rethink my decision," he remarked, both eyebrows raised, and Kurt jumped away from Blaine as if burned.

"What, no. It's not what it looks like. Blaine pushed me down," he tried to explain.

"Not helping, Kurt," Blaine mumbled from where his face was buried into Kurt's pillow and Kurt shook his head frantically.

"I'm just messing with you kiddo," Burt saved him and Kurt gave him a relived smile, because he wanted Burt to trust him not to abuse his trust in them.

"I just wanted to let you know that I spoke with Cooper and told him to expect you some time Sunday night in two weeks." With that he turned, but not before calling 'door stays open' over his shoulder before he left, causing them both to collapse in a fit of giggles on Kurt's bed.

"We are going to California," Kurt whispered in awe after they had both calmed down. "I've never been further away than Indiana, and I don't remember much about it," he added.

"My dad wasn't big on traveling either, especially after my mom died, but I did get some places with the Warbers. The 'upside' of having rich friends I guess," Blaine shrugged, but Kurt just stared at him wide eyed.

"Well, prepare yourself for me going into full tourist mode once we get there, because apparently Cooper got a few gigs lined up, so we should have a lot of free time together."

"I can't wait," Blaine replied before pressing his lips against Kurt's, kissing him passionately for a few minutes before they both had to break apart for air.

"I agree with what your dad said downstairs though," he found the courage to say a little later. "I want to spend time alone with you and all that, but I'm not ready for … you know."

He didn't think Blaine would pressure him or something like that, but he wanted to make sure they were on the same page. Better safe than sorry, right?

"Hey, that's fine. No pressure," his boyfriend immediately assured him. "I've never done anything like that either, so take as much time as you need. All I want is spend time with you with no one around to supervise us, or guard us for once."

Kurt grinned, happy that he and Blaine were indeed on the same page, before pressing their lips together once more. He had a hot boyfriend after all and kissing was fun.

Blaine

The next two weeks went by slowly and Blaine couldn't wait for Spring Break to start. Kurt had been working more hours at the garage to be able to afford a few new outfits for California, and so he spent most of his time with Puck, Mike and Sam and even managed to meet up with David once.

Finally, the final bell rang and he and Kurt rushed out of the school, forgoing Glee for once to get a head start on all the other people also traveling during Spring Break.

In the end they had agreed to leave straight after school was over on Friday and spend two nights on the road, so they would be able to see a bit of the country as well during their trip to L.A. Blaine had promised they would take his car because it was safer for such a long trip though the gas millage was worse than Kurt's car's.

After two long hugs, his dad finally let him and Kurt go, and Blaine got behind the wheel, while Kurt plugged his iPod in.

It was close to ten when they reached Effingham, IL and decided to take a break for the night. So far the drive hadn't been very interesting as there was little change in scenery along the interstate and Blaine couldn't wait to leave the Mid West.

Their road trip reminded him of the talk he had had with Kurt about running away before the trial, and Kurt laughed when he brought it up. "So, I'll get my 'On the road' like experience after all," he joked.

"As long as you don't make us sleep outside," Blaine replied and chuckled when Kurt's eyes widened in panic, before quickly pulling up to a motel that had vacancies.

They got a room with two queen-sized beds, but quickly agreed that they only needed one. Like he had promised, he kept his hands to himself, once he and Kurt were both under the covers, but he was happy when Kurt insisted they could still make out, as long as it didn't go any further.

Cuddled up against Kurt he fell into a deep sleep, both of them sleeping soundly through the night and Blaine couldn't wait for a day, when they got to share a bed every night.

The next morning they stopped in St. Louis for a late breakfast because Kurt insisted on seeing the Arch and the Mississippi, while Blaine wanted to drop by the baseball stadium.

Kurt drove them through Missouri, where they stopped again in one of the many Springfields for lunch, and Blaine took over the wheel for their drive through Oklahoma, during which they had the soundtrack for the musical on repeat on Blaine's iPod.

He couldn't believe how exhausting it was to just spend all day in a car and they both collapsed on their bed in a small motel in New Mexico.

"As interesting as that little road trip of ours is, I can't wait to get to our destiny," Kurt moaned, massaging his stiff neck, and if Blaine's offer of a massage wasn't completely selfless – sue him. It wasn't often that Kurt actually let him close like that.

He was relieved that Kurt felt less skinny than he had only weeks ago, but didn't say anything out of fear that Kurt would misunderstand it and think gaining weight was a bad thing.

Sunday brought them through New Mexico, Arizona and finally California. Kurt had watched the change in scenery like a kid during its first visit to a candy store and Blaine was pretty impressed himself.

It was close to midnight when after getting lost in L.A for a bit, they finally arrived at Cooper's Burbank apartment. Kurt's half brother helped them carry in their luggage before showing them to a pull out couch in the small living room.

"I don't have a guest room," he apologized, "so don't tell Burt I'm letting you share the couch." Kurt waved him off before collapsing face first on the couch.

"I have an audition tomorrow morning, but we could meet for lunch in West Hollywood afterward before I show you around for a bit," Cooper offered, and Blaine accepted on Kurt's behalf who was already half asleep on the couch.

After much coaxing, he got his boyfriend into pajamas before he collapsed himself, because cross country road trips were much more exhausting than he had originally thought.

Kurt

Kurt hadn't been exaggerating when he had said he would go into full tourist mode as soon as they touched down in L.A, and so, as soon as he had shaken Blaine awake and forced him into the bathroom, the two of them braved the Los Angeles Metro and headed over to Hollywood.

They were swarmed by people in superhero costumes as soon as they got off at Hollywood and Highland, and Kurt clutched Blaine's hand tightly, afraid to get lost in the mass of tourists walking up and down Hollywood Boulevard as well. To his relief, no one even looked at them twice and Kurt vowed not to let go of Blaine's hand while they were in California.

They took pictures in front of the Kodak Theater – Kurt imagining what it would be like to walk the red carpet on Oscar night – before they headed over to Grauman's Chinese theater to look at the handprints of the stars – where Blaine promptly freaked because he was a huge Harry Potter fan.

Before they knew it, it was time for lunch and after asking around for a bit, they found the bus that would take them to West Hollywood. Cooper was already waiting for them outside the Farmer's Market and led them to a small cafe that served fresh food made from produce from the market.

"How was your audition?" he asked his brother, after assuring him they had found the place all right, and had had no problem with L.A's shitty public transport.

"It went great. I'm sure I'll get a call back any day," Cooper enthused and Kurt and Baine shared a look, because they both weren't convinced Cooper was as good as he thought he was.

"That's cool," he assured his brother nevertheless. "So are you busy this week or do you have time to hang out with us?"

Cooper pulled out a calendar which as much pomp as possible and Kurt had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes. He was seriously starting to doubt he and Cooper were actually related because that man was such a drama queen.

"I have to meet some make up people over at the Fox lot tomorrow because I'm filming a scene for Bones on Wednesday. I'm the victim of gruesome murder," he announced proudly. "You should tag along – I could give you a tour."

"Are you sure that's allowed?" Kurt asked doubtfully. He had always imagined film studios had strict security.

"I know the girl at the gate and I'm pretty sure she has a crush on me," Cooper winked. "I'd be willing to take her out to show you guys a good time."

Kurt shrugged. He wasn't opposed to seeing a real film studio and judging by the way Blaine was excitedly bouncing up and down in his chair he wasn't complaining either.

"That's where they film 'How I met your mother', right? I love that show," his boyfriend enthused, becoming even more excited when Cooper nodded.

"Can we go? Please, Kurt. You know how much I love Neil Patrick Harris. Maybe we'll even get to meet him." Oh did he ever know. Blaine didn't know that he knew, but he had discovered Blaine had a Tumblr blog devoted exclusively to all things NPH.

"Yes, we can go," he told his boyfriend before he turned to Cooper. "But please don't get us into trouble. I don't want Burt to lose custody, because you got me arrested."

Cooper assured him that it was no problem at all as long as they stayed by his side and followed his instructions, and so Kurt decided to stop worrying for the moment and just let him enjoy the week he had with his half-brother.

After lunch, Cooper took them to the Grove and though Kurt thought the outdoor mall looked a bit tacky, he instantly fell in love with the shops they didn't have at the Lima mall. Not that he could afford any of the clothes, but it was heaven just being able to look at them.

"You like clothes?" Cooper asked when Kurt dragged them into yet another store and Kurt gave him a bright smile. "Then Blaine here has to take you to the Beverly Center and Rodeo Drive at some point. Preferably when I'm working," he added but Kurt didn't care. He knew not everyone shared his passion for clothes.

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving around town aimlessly, Cooper pointing out landmarks and other interesting spots from time to time, while he and Blaine were cuddled up together on Cooper's backseat, soaking everything in.

Compared to Lima, L.A was a magic wonderland and he could understand why all sorts of people were drawn to the city. If he weren't so dead set on Broadway he could actually imagine moving out here with Cooper for a bit.

"A friend of mine is throwing a little beach party later tonight," Cooper told them when they stopped in front of the Chateau Marmont, hoping to catch someone famous going in.

"Just don't tell Burt I didn't say anything when you drink and make sure you are able to get up at nine tomorrow." Kurt nodded immediately, knowing he wouldn't touch any alcohol anyway after living with his parents for his whole life and his experience New Year's Eve.

When Blaine saw his expression, he quickly assured him he wouldn't drink either, but Kurt told him he didn't have a problem with it as long as Blaine didn't turn into an asshole when he did.

The house of Cooper's friend was a little outside of L.A and the guy seemed to be a lot more successful than Cooper, judging by the house they were pulling up to, Kurt thought.

It was warm out for late March and people were milling around on the beach in their bathing suits, causing Kurt to wrap his arms around himself over his thin t-shirt. There were just too many good-looking people for him to feel completely comfortable.

Blaine apparently didn't have the same problems, because he immediately pulled his shirt off once they arrived on the beach, joining in on a game of beach volleyball.

Kurt's jaw fell as his eyes ran over his boyfriend's body. He knew he had to be fit from football training, but he hadn't expected what he was seeing – probably because he had never allowed himself to think about what Blaine would look like without clothes.

His skin was darker than Kurt's – but then, whose wasn't? – and he could see his muscles flex when he jumped up to hit the ball. Not for the first time, Kurt questioned what Blaine saw in him, because he felt so inadequate compared to his gorgeous boyfriend.

"You're drooling," Cooper chuckled next to him and Kurt promptly shut his mouth and glared at his half-brother. "I'm not. I was just admiring the view," he argued, causing Cooper to snigger again. "I'm sure you did."

Luckily, he was called away before Kurt could make an even bigger fool out of himself, and he sank down on one of the beach chairs, trying to keep the treacherous thoughts that were telling him Blaine would never find him hot or sexy at bay.

Suddenly, Blaine jogged up to him and Kurt tried his best to keep his eyes on his face. "Come join us, Kurt. It's so much fun."

Kurt immediately shook his head. He was not getting sand on his new t-shirt and he was most definitely not taking his shirt off, surrounded by muscular and tanned men. He could only pale in comparison –pun intended.

"I don't know how," argued, but unfortunately Blaine didn't accept his excuse. "Don't worry, I'll show you."

Kurt reluctantly let himself be dragged down to where the other players were taking a break.

He shivered lightly, when Blaine stepped behind him and moved his hands into a position. "That's how you hold your hands when the ball comes down low," Blaine explained, but Kurt could barely focus on what he was saying with the way Blaine was draped over his back, the warmth of his body seeping through his thin shirt. He nervously took a look around, but fortunately no one was giving them any attention.

His arms were moved upwards next and Blaine pressed even closer, getting up on his toes so he could keep his hands on Kurt's and Kurt took a step forward, suddenly feeling too hot. "I think I get it," he mumbled, getting out of Blaine's grasp before he could embarrass himself. Luckily, Blaine didn't seem to notice his strange behavior and just smiled at him before picking up a ball. After dropping it five times in a row, he was saved by Cooper who announced that the burgers on the grill were ready and Kurt quickly hurried back up to the house.

Later that night, someone lit a small fire and Blaine borrowed Cooper's friend's guitar and played songs for all of them while Kurt smiled at him dopily, especially when Blaine announced that the next song he was playing was for Kurt. It wasn't one Kurt had heard before, so he assumed Blaine must have written it himself, which made it even more special.

He might not understand what Blaine saw in him, but his boyfriend did always do his best to show Kurt how much he meant to him. Maybe it was time to put a bit more trust in Blaine and really start working on his issues.

 

Blaine

Blaine was glad he had only had two beers the night before, because he was tired enough even without a hangover to deal with when their alarm went off. He gratefully accepted a cup of coffee, before he and Kurt took turns in Cooper's bathroom.

This morning he put a bit more effort into styling his hair and put on his nicest shorts and a new t-shirt he had bought at the Grove. He was going to a real Hollywood studio after all, where he could run into his idol. Enough reason to look his absolute best.

Kurt looked amazing as well, but that was nothing new since Kurt had discovered eBay and the mall, and Blaine wished they could stay in California longer, because Kurt barely wore any layers down here.

Cooper looked like a zombie, but assured them it didn't matter because he was playing a corpse anyway. Blaine grabbed another coffee before they left, and before he knew it they were heading for the front gate of the Fox Studios.

Like Cooper had promised, asking the girl watching the gate out on a date was all it took for her to turn a blind eye to Kurt and Blaine in the backseat and soon they were parked in front of a quaint looking building.

"There's a little café around the corner. Just wait there for me – I shouldn't be long," Cooper instructed them before walking inside. Blaine took Kurt's hand and together they walked in the direction Cooper had pointed.

Blaine couldn't get enough of the sights. There was a row of bungalows where Cooper had dropped them off, but beyond he could see huge sound stages and big trailers spread over the lot. Shouting was coming from one of the streets close by and Blaine couldn't wait to explore a bit.

Luckily, Cooper really didn't take long, and soon they were off, after Cooper stuck some visitor badges on them that looked more than a little fake if you looked too closely.

Cooper tried to get them into a few soundstage, but filming was going on on most of them so they had to stay outdoors and ended up wandering through a replica of New York streets that caused Kurt to squeal in delight.

Suddenly, he spotted a familiar looking building and he grabbed Kurt's hand and pulled him along. "That's Maclaren's," he told his boyfriend excitedly, when Kurt raised an eyebrow in question. Kurt, as it turned out, was more into reality TV than scripted series, but Blaine was dead set on converting Kurt into a 'How I met your mother' fan one day soon.

"They are filming a Maclaren scene on the soundstage right now," Cooper told them when he came back from talking to some guy. "You wanna see if we can sneak in? We could pose as background actors," he added before removing their visitor's badges.

Before he knew it, they were inside the 'pub' standing on the sidelines with a group of other people. A guy with a radio on his belt came over and looked them up and down. "You background?" he asked with a frown and Blaine quickly followed Cooper's lead and nodded.

"Alright, sit in the both over there," the man instructed and Blaine slid into a booth next to Kurt. They guy went over some rules, but Blaine was barely listening and his breath caught in his throat when his idol walked in followed by the rest of the cast.

"Oh my god," he mumbled, barely containing his squeal, but apparently he wasn't quiet enough, because suddenly a woman with a headset looked straight at him.

"Who hired them?" she asked, pointing at him and Kurt. "They are clearly underage." Blaine could feel Kurt tense next to him and from the corner of his eye he saw him shooting daggers at Cooper, who looked a bit nervous himself.

Before he knew what was happening, Cooper jumped up and grabbed Kurt's hand, yanking Blaine with him. "Run," Cooper yelled and they stumbled through a group of confused looking people back outside into the sunlight.

They didn't stop running until they reached Cooper's car, and Kurt's brother quickly drove them off the lot. "Don't want to be banned," he explained. "I think I've worked with that first AD before."

Kurt was still glaring at Cooper for nearly getting them into trouble, but Blaine was still hyped up from seeing the cast.

Lunch was tense as Kurt refused to talk to Cooper and Blaine excused himself to the bathroom to give the brothers some privacy. When he returned, Kurt and Cooper were arguing, and though he knew he shouldn't eavesdrop he couldn't help himself.

"How could you do that Cooper? I told you I couldn't get into trouble." Kurt hissed and Cooper at least looked contrite.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be a problem and I just wanted you to have a good time. I've never had a brother before, but I thought that's what I should do," Cooper apologized.

"Well, you don't have to impress me. All I want is to spend some time with you and get to know you better," Kurt shot back, clearly upset and Cooper's shoulders slumped.

"I just thought you wouldn't be interested in hanging out if you knew what a loser I am. I've been here for nearly ten years and I still haven't managed to get a break."

Okay, now he felt really bad for listening to their conversation, because he didn't think Cooper often admitted that he wasn't as successful as he liked to pretend.

"You are the only family that doesn't hate me, so please don't pretend for my sake. Just knowing that I have you in my life now is enough," Kurt assured his brother and after the brothers shared a hug, Blaine took it as his cue to return to the table.

"So, what's on the agenda for this afternoon?" he asked cheerfully, not wanting to let on that he had listened to their conversation.

"How about I drive us up to Griffith Park. You have a great view over L.A and we can swing by the Hollywood sign as well," Cooper suggested, not letting on that he and Kurt had just had an argument.

Blaine looked at Kurt, who nodded, but was avoiding Cooper's gaze. "Great," he replied before calling over a waiter to get the bill.

Thankfully, the afternoon was rather uneventful. Cooper took hundreds of pictures of them during their afternoon excursion, before they returned to Cooper's apartment where Kurt showed off his superior cooking skills.

They went to bed early that night, still exhausted from their road trip and the little sleep they had gotten after the beach party. Kurt snuggled up close to him, letting Blaine wrap his arms around his boyfriend, before he whispered into his ear.

"I'm glad you came with me. I'm not sure how Cooper and I would have fared on our own." Blaine tightened his hold on Kurt before he replied. "Give it time. After all, you've only just met. You both probably still need to get used to the idea of suddenly having a brother in your life."

"I hope so," Kurt mumbled, before his breathing evened out and Blaine closed his eyes as well.

Kurt

Cooper was busy the next day, filming his murder victim scenes, and so Kurt coaxed Blaine into joining him for a shopping day. After seeing the kinds of shops on Rodeo Drive it quickly turned into window-shopping, but Kurt was still in awe, just watching the beautiful garments through the windows.

In the afternoon, he let Blaine convince him to get on one of those 'The houses of the stars' tours, during which he hid his face behind huge sunglasses while making snarky comments about the other crazies on the bus with them.

He didn't really get the appeal of driving by houses hidden behind large hedges or fences, but Blaine seemed happy, so Kurt settled with his head on Blaine's shoulder and let his boyfriend have his fun.

Cooper wasn't back at the apartment when they returned after their tourist tour, and so Kurt decided to take advantages of the empty apartment and do something nice for his boyfriend.

As much as he wanted to take Blaine out for a nice dinner at some celebrity hotspot, he knew it wasn't in his budget, so he told Blaine to go for a walk to get him out of the house.

By the time his boyfriend returned, he had managed to find a few candles in Cooper's apartment and had set the table for a romantic dinner for two. Dinner was cooking on the stove, and he leaned back into his Blaine's embrace when his boyfriend's arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

"You didn't have to," Blaine whispered, but Kurt shook his head. "You've done so much for me in the past, so I thought it was my turn to take care of you. I can't give you fancy presents, but this is something I can do," he replied before turning in Blaine's arms and pressing their lips together.

"Being here is enough," Blaine assured him after they separated, "but thank you."

Kurt just smiled at him before shooing him out of the kitchen so he could finish dinner. He had already gotten dressed before starting dinner, and so by the time he was finished and was placing the plates on the table, Blaine had emerged from the bathroom as well, freshly showered and also wearing a nice outfit.

They held hands during most of the dinner, though it made eating difficult from time to time, starring in each other's eyes like the lovesick fools that they were.

"What are our plans for tomorrow?" Kurt asked after they had finished drying the dishes, ready to collapse on the couch and just watch a movie. Blaine told him to wait for a moment because he had a surprise for them, and Kurt waited anxiously for his return, because in the past, surprises had never been a good thing.

"It's a gift from my dad and in my case, him making good on a promise he made years ago," Blaine explained before he pulled two tickets out of an envelope. Kurt's eyes widened, because after Blaine had introduced him to the movies as a child he had been as fascinated with the place as every other child had.

"Your dad got us tickets for Disneyland?" he asked incredulously and Blaine nodded.

"I did want to go anyway, but I know the entrance fee is rather expensive. My dad saw me researching the park online, and bought them for us. Oh, and he told me to tell you that you are not allowed to argue. You can see it as an early birthday present."

Kurt didn't know what to say, so he just wrapped his arms around Blaine and pressed his head against his shoulder.

"Remind me to get your dad a really nice present before we leave," he finally said, ideas already running through his mind.

Just then his phone pinged and Kurt picked it up from the coffee table. "It's from Cooper," he told Blaine. "Got a date 2nite. Don't expect me home. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he read out loud, causing Blaine to chuckle.

"So basically we could to something totally crazy and we would still be less crazy than your brother."

"Basically."

"So what kind of movie did you want to watch?" Blaine asked once they were seated on Cooper's couch. Kurt took a deep breath reminding him that if he wanted to move forward in his relationship with Blaine he had to work on overcoming his issues.

"Actually, I thought we could not watch a movie for a while," he whispered before he pushed Blaine down onto the couch and laid down on top of him him, pressing their chests together. He could feel Blaine's heartbeat speed up through the thin t-shirts that were separating them and took that as a good sign.

Taking another deep breath, he grabbed Blaine's hands and put them just above his hips, hoping Blaine would get the message that it was okay. Pushing all negative thoughts to the back of his mind, he lost himself in Blaine's kisses and tried not to flinch away when Blaine's hands started moving up and down his back.

He kept sucking his stomach in though, acutely aware that it was pressed right against the hard lines of Blaine's. Once Blaine started kissing down his neck however, he forgot all about it and relaxed for the first time while he was making out with Blaine like that. Blaine loved him and Blaine had assured him he wouldn't leave him for something like looks, and he had to trust that Blaine meant it if he ever wanted to get better and get over his body issues.

"Tell me if I get too heavy," he had to tell his boyfriend though, because he didn't want to crush him, but Blaine just chuckled, assuring him that he wasn't even close to being heavy.

He lost track of time at some point, kissing Blaine until their lips were red and swollen and he had left a dark mark right above Blaine's collarbone, which he hoped would be covered by Blaine's shirt, because he really didn't need Burt to see that.

He assumed he didn't look much better, his pale skin bruising easily, after Blaine had devoted quite some time to his own neck.

They were both breathing hard when Kurt finally pulled back, because as much as he was enjoying what they were doing, he knew he would be in trouble if they continued and the last thing he wanted was break Burt's trust.

Blaine didn't seem to fare much better and Kurt quickly looked away when his boyfriend tried to cover his lap discreetly with his t-shirt.

"Wow," Blaine breathed out once they had both calmed down a bit and Kurt smiled at him bashfully. "Where did that come from?"

Kurt looked away and played with the hem of his own shirt. "I'm not saying Cooper isn't crazy, but his approach to life isn't completely stupid. I guess sometimes you just have to take a risk…" he trailed off, hoping Blaine would somehow get what he was saying even though he wasn't certain what it was that he really wanted to say.

"Well, I'm not complaining, but promise me to never do stuff you aren't ready for just because you think it's something I want," Blaine added more seriously and Kurt nodded.

"I promise. And just so you know – I wasn't doing it for you, I was doing it for me. I need to stop listening to the voices in my head, telling me wanting this is wrong or that no one is ever going to love me or find me attractive if I truly want to put the past behind me," Kurt explained as best as he could.

"Well, I do love you, and trust me I find you plenty attractive," Blaine replied, smiling bashfully as well, and Kurt took it at face value. Blaine wouldn't lie to him, so if Blaine said he found him attractive it had to be true. It definitely sounded better than hormones when he thought about Blaine's 'predicament'.

The did settle on a movie in the end, because Kurt wasn't sure he could keep his hands off Blaine with his new found confidence if he didn't refocus his attention. Cooper never showed up, so Kurt assumed his date was going well, and he and Blaine decided to call it a night around midnight because they wanted to leave for Anaheim early the next morning.

For a moment he thought that sharing a bed would be different with Blaine that night, after he had allowed their relationship to progress a bit, but Blaine just cuddled up to him, like he had the nights before, and wrapped his arms around him.

He fell asleep with a smile on his face, dreaming of a future where they weren't just playing house but actually shared their own home.

 

Blaine

Thursday was there last full day in California if the wanted to be back in Ohio on Sunday at a reasonable time, and Blaine woke Kurt early for their trip to Disneyland.

An hour later they were passing by the lines that were already forming outside the main entrance, grateful that they already had their tickets, as it was unreasonably hot already this early in the morning.

Kurt, they discovered, wasn't a fan of heights, but he still braved every rollercoaster Blaine wanted to get on to. He secretly liked Kurt's phobia because it meant that Kurt would press against him whenever the rollercoaster climbed up, hiding his face in Blaine's neck, just above the hickey Kurt had left on him the night before.

He would deny it if asked, but he might have spent some time in front of the mirror this morning admiring Kurt's handiwork. Unfortunately he couldn't see the one he had left on Kurt, as Kurt was wearing a shirt that didn't show much skin but he was still happy he had been allowed to put it there in the first place.

He smirked when he discovered a ride on the map that promised to get you wet, because he had noticed Kurt starring at him when he had taken his shirt off on the beach. The ride was the perfect excuse to do it again and observe Kurt's reaction. Maybe it was a bit evil, but he had his own insecurities, so knowing that his boyfriend found him hot, did boost his ego.

"What are you doing?" Kurt hissed when Blaine casually pulled his t-shirt over his head and tried not to laugh at Kurt whose face was already tomato red and who was struggling to keep his eyes up. Blaine pointed to some other people in line who had taken their shirts off as well. "Don't want to get my new shirt wet," he explained while he made sure to brush against Kurt as much as possible while they were waiting in line.

Kurt looked conflicted, before he sighed and pulled his shirt over his head as well, causing Blaine to sigh in return. He didn't know why he was actually surprised that his boyfriend was wearing another layer under his t-shirt, but at least there was a lot more skin on display now that Kurt was only in a tank top.

It was his turn to blush when Kurt caught him staring at the hickey poking out from under the strap and his boyfriend quickly rearranged his shirt to cover it, sending a glare in Blaine's direction.

"We don't have to go on the ride if it makes you uncomfortable," he told Kurt, knowing it was the right thing to say though he still hoped Kurt wouldn't back out. Unfortunately he could see how uncomfortable Kurt was, and the last thing he wanted was push him into something he didn't want to do – not after promising Kurt to never pressure him.

Kurt appeared to be deep in though, looking like he was fighting some kind of inner battle, before his expression changed and his boyfriend looked more determined than he had ever seen him before.

"Nah, it looks like fun and it is really hot today. I wouldn't mind cooling off a bit," he said, while his eyes raked over Blaine's body and Blaine was certain he was the one who was tomato red now. He couldn't believe Kurt was beating him at his own game.

"You need some help with the sunscreen?" he asked, knowing how much Kurt was afraid to get sunburned and also hoping to get his hands on Kurt for a bit.

His boyfriend took a quick look around, but no one was paying them any attention and so he received a tight nod. Blaine carefully spread the sunscreen over Kurt's pale shoulders and the adorable freckles he was sporting on his arms, which had been exposed to the sun for the past few days. He was relieved to see that Kurt was less bony now, having gained some muscles from helping his dad in the garage, his bones not sticking out like they had in the past.

No bruises were marring his beautiful skin, like they had the one time he had seen Kurt without a shirt, and he was happy to see the proof that the jocks really had backed off after Karofsky's suspension.

Not wanting to attract any attention either, he quickly covered the skin on display in sunscreen before he put it back into his bag and took Kurt's hand again, still having trouble though to keep his eyes off Kurt.

"You are staring," Kurt whispered a while later when they had nearly reached the end of the line. Blaine looked at his face to determine whether he was making Kurt uncomfortable, but all he could see was confusion.

"You are my boyfriend and you are hot. Of course I'm staring," he admitted in a hushed voice, ecstatic to put a pleased smile on Kurt's face.

Before Kurt could reply though, the line moved forward again, and he and Kurt sat down next to each other in the first row of the boat to ensure getting wet. Ultimately, Blaine ended up shielding Kurt from the worst, which is why he looked like a drowned rat when the ride was over, his hair already curling like crazy on his head.

They decided to take their lunch break then, so they could get dry again in the sun and Blaine had to bat Kurt's hands away multiple times when his boyfriend attempted to play with his curls. He didn't understand why no one got that his hair was a curse, not adorable and most certainly nothing to play with.

Unfortunately, Kurt put his t-shirt back on as soon as he was dry again, covering up his lovely arms, but he was amused when Kurt pouted because he got dressed again as well.

Cooper called them soon afterward, letting them know that he was going to take them out for their last night in L.A and to be back in time for a late dinner, to which he and Kurt agreed, before they went in search of Disney characters to take pictures with.

Kurt bought a Mickey Mouse cap for Burt, while he unsuccessfully tried to get Kurt into mouse ears. In the end Kurt relented and put them on for a second to pose for a picture, which Blaine immediately set as background for his phone, even though Kurt protested loudly.

Once they had seen and done most of the things they had wanted to do, they walked back to Blaine's car and stored their purchases in the backseat. There was still time until they had to meet Cooper for dinner so Blaine didn't get on the interstate and instead drove north on the Pacific Coast Highway so he could check travel on the 101 off his bucket list. He and Kurt stopped a few times to take pictures with the pacific ocean behind them, their arms around one another while they were basking in the sun. Kurt looked like a movie start with his big dark sunglasses and his hair ruffled by the wind, Blaine thought as he snapped a few more pictures of Kurt on his own.

They ordered in for dinner as Cooper confessed to not being the best cook himself, before he told them to get dressed in something hip so he could take them out clubbing.

Blaine doubted at first that Cooper could actually get them into a club, but had to believe Cooper was right when he said people didn't get carded if the doormen thought they were someone important. He just hoped that Cooper's newest plan would work better than his last one had.

"Where are we even going?" Kurt asked once they were dressed and on their way to Cooper's car. "A gay bar a friend recommended," Cooper replied nonchalantly as if that was something he did often, before he went over the plan again.

As per Cooper's instructions he gave the brothers a bit of a head start, but started walking briskly down the street when he saw Kurt and Cooper had nearly reached the front entrance of the club. It was still early so there wasn't a line out front, for which Blaine was grateful. He put on his best game face before he rushed over to Kurt.

"Oh my god," he exclaimed as overly dramatic as possible. "I can't believe it's you. You were so hot in the newest Twilight movie. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I just said that out loud," he rambled on, while watching the bouncer from the corner of his eyes. Kurt was definitely on his radar now, and he looked like he was trying to figure out if he had seen Kurt in anything before.

"I'm really sorry to disturb you and your friend, but could I maybe get an autograph. Then I'll get out of your hair," Blaine continued playing the star struck stranger. As planned Kurt gave him a quick once over before he winked and nodded in the direction of the bar.

"Why don't I buy you a drink and you can tell me all about how hot I was in that movie," he drawled, the night sky hiding the blush Blaine was certain was on Kurt's face. "My agent shouldn't babysit me for too long hopefully," he added with a nod in Cooper's direction, before he grabbed Blaine's hand and the two of them strode over to the doormen, Kurt giving off an air of confidence, Blaine wasn't sure he would be able to pull off.

As Cooper had predicted, the bouncer stepped aside and let them through without asking for their IDs and Cooper followed a few steps behind, mumbling something about arrogant newcomers.

As soon as they were out of sight, Cooper led them to a table in a corner where they had a good view of the dance floor and weren't too far away from the bar.

"I can't believe that worked," Blaine exclaimed once they were seated and had drinks in front of them - an Appletini for him, Bloody Mary for Cooper and a Virgin Daiquiri for Kurt.

"Like I told you. Pick a movie everyone knows about but not many over twenty have seen and pretend to star in it. That guy had no idea who you are supposed to be, but he couldn't risk turning you away because having you in the club might be good publicity for them," Cooper explained once more, while he and Kurt were still in shock that Cooper's plan hadn't backfired on them.

For the first half hour they just sat at their table, watching as more and more people filled the club. Both he and Kurt were staring wide-eyed at the diversity in the bar. He had no grounds for comparison as he had never been to a gay bar, or any bar really, before, but he couldn't imagine that Lima's only gay bar was anything like the one they were in.

"You have an admirer," Cooper suddenly pointed at a guy in his early twenties who was staring intently at Kurt. Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulders, not liking how this guy was treating his boyfriend like nothing more than a piece of meat, but he held his tongue because Kurt seemed to enjoy the attention.

After all, he knew how low Kurt's self esteem could be at times, so he let the guy look – as long as he stayed away from Kurt.

"Do you want to dance?" he yelled into Kurt's ear a while later after fending off his own admirer who reminded him of the creep Sebastian. The dance floor was packed by now, men grinding against one another in a way Blaine could never imagine doing in public.

Kurt looked a bit skeptical as well, but still took his outstretched hand. The number playing at the moment was an upbeat pop song and at first he and Kurt were just goofing off, keeping a respectable distance between them, but then Blaine saw Kurt's admirer from earlier approach them, and he quickly wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist and pulled him closer, making sure to keep their hips apart though.

Thankfully, Kurt went willingly and if his smirk was any indication, he was well aware of Blaine's motives. They moved together to the beat of the song until it changed to a slower number and Blaine dropped his head onto Kurt's shoulder.

He had never really slow danced with a boy before and it reminded him of something he had so far pushed to the back of his mind.

"Do you want to go to prom?" he yelled into Kurt's ear before he cringed because his boyfriend deserved better than a shouted proposal in a gay bar.

"Let's talk about it when we drive back home," Kurt yelled back and Blaine nodded. He didn't know where his courage had come from – after his disastrous experience in middle school – and he hoped it hadn't just been liquid courage. It was probably better to discuss the topic when he was thinking rationally again.

Cooper joined time a bit later, making a fool out of himself on the dance floor, which still got him a couple of phone numbers. Blaine wasn't surprised though because Kurt's brother was definitely good looking.

After another round of cocktails they decided to call it at night because they wanted to leave early Friday morning. They had decided to take another route back, because Blaine wanted to see Las Vegas and Kurt the Hoover Dam. It would take them longer to get back, but they wanted to see a few more things along the road.

Luckily, another bouncer had taken over so they didn't have to worry about getting into trouble after all.

"You should spend the summer out here," Cooper suggested on the drive back to his apartment. "I could see if I can get you jobs as guides or something like that. Any maybe," he continued," I can convince you that L.A is the place to be if you want to be in entertainment."

Blaine didn't care either way. There were good schools on the east coast as well as on the west coast and he knew he wanted to be wherever Kurt was. And right now, Kurt was set on New York City.

"I'll have to talk to my dad about it. I won't be eighteen till November," he replied when Kurt just shrugged and looked at him questioningly.

To be honest, he wouldn't mind spending some time in California during their summer break, but ultimately it wasn't up to him. He knew his dad would insist on their annual camping trip after school let out for the summer, but other than that he had no further plans yet. He could audition for King's Island again, but they had amusement parks in California as well. Bigger and better ones.

It was just another thing he had to discuss with Kurt during their trip back home.

Kurt

Las Vegas was loud and shrill even in the morning and Kurt couldn't stop laughing every time Blaine got shooed away from a poker table or slot machine.

He loved the replicas of European landmarks though, because he had never been and this was the closest he would probably ever get to the Eiffel Tower.

They didn't have much time to linger though, only making it through the most famous hotels, before they had to move on again.

It was already close to four in the afternoon when they finally reached the border between Nevada and Arizona and looked down the huge Hoover Dam. The sun was burning down on them and Kurt pulled Blaine into the shadows watching the water glistening below.

"Did you mean it when you asked me to prom?" he finally asked, because though he had dreamed of one day having a date to something like prom, he had never imagined he would get that while still living in Ohio.

Blaine looked out on the river as if it was giving him the right answer before he turned to face Kurt and spoke.

"I want to go, I really do. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. I know nothing can happen to us inside with the teachers around, but what if someone catches us in the parking lot? I can't have a repeat of my last dance."

Kurt nodded. He had seen how scared Blaine had been when Karofsky had been waiting for them in the parking lot and so he understood why Blaine might be hesitant to go to prom with him.

"But I also don't want fear to dictate my life. We both deserve to celebrate with our classmates just like every other student. And if I have to ask my dad to walk us to the door and pick us from inside, so be it," Blaine continued, sounding a lot more determined than he had only moments ago.

"So yes. Kurt Anderson, would you do me the honor and escort me to our junior prom?" Blaine asked, while holding Kurt's hand to his heart. Kurt threw his arms around his boyfriend before quickly pressing their lips together.

A few people were glaring in their direction Kurt noticed when they separated, but he didn't give a damn in that moment, because he had a date to prom.

"I need to start looking at tuxes as soon as we get home," he mused out loud, causing Blaine to chuckle. "Kurt, prom isn't for another month. We still have Nationals before that," he reminded him, but Kurt just shrugged. This was the first social event he would attend with Blaine and he intended to look fabulous.

After snapping a few more pictures, they got back into Blaine's car and continued their journey, briefly stopping for dinner in Flagstaff, Arizona. They both knew they couldn't spend tons of time in each place they stopped, because they were losing three hours to the time difference between California and Ohio and were taking a route that took more time as well.

They finally stopped for the night, close to Gallup, New Mexico because Blaine liked the name and they both had trouble keeping their eyes open. As soon as they were in their motel room, they collapsed on their bed and fell into a deep sleep before they could even take their shoes off.

They left bright and early again the next day and stopped for brunch in Albuquerque before turning away from the road they had taken to California and made their way up to Santa Fe, singing the song from 'Rent' with both their windows down. They stopped briefly to pick up some groceries so they wouldn't have to stop again for a while before Kurt took over the wheel for their track to Denver where they stopped for dinner.

Later that night, they were cuddled up on their bed in a motel in a small town in Kansas, watching 'The Wizard of Oz' on Blaine's laptop.

"Do you think it'd be a good idea to spend parts of the summer in L.A with Cooper?" Kurt asked once they credits rolled. He could probably get a summer job at the Lima Bean or work more hours for Burt, but having a summer job in California did sound a bit more glamorous and he wanted to have something to rub in the face of all the people at McKinley who had called him a loser.

"I'm pretty sure my dad is going to take us camping for a few days after school ends, but I'm not opposed to the idea either. I mean, yeah, your brother is a bit crazy, but the last few days were exciting. But I honestly have no idea if my dad would let me go. Maybe for a few weeks but probably not the whole summer," Blaine replied and Kurt tried to imagine spending his break in L.A with Blaine stuck in Lima. He didn't like the thought, but maybe it wouldn't be too bad to practice spending some time apart, in case they didn't go to college in the same city.

"Let's just talk to your dad when we get back," Kurt suggested because that wasn't a decision they could make on their own anyway.

If he was quite honest he had liked L.A more than he thought he would but Nationals was coming up in New York and he was sure that once he got to the city of his dreams he would forget about L.A in a heartbeat. Sure that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy a summer out west, but there was no way that Cooper could convince him to move west after he graduated high school.

He fell asleep that night dreaming about strolling down Fifth Avenue hand in hand with Blaine, dressed in fabulous clothes, all traces of the old Kurt Anderson erased.

By the time they reached Kansas City Sunday morning, Kurt was ready to call it quits on the road trip, but unfortunately they still had to drive through Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and parts of Ohio before they reached their final destination.

They didn't stop anymore, opting for food from drive thrus that they alternated eating, but it was still close to midnight when they finally pulled into the Hummel driveway. Burt swept them into a hug as soon as they had climbed out of the car, and Kurt couldn't wait to stretch his stiff limbs.

Burt offered to let them take the day off school the next morning, because they both were extremely exhausted, but both him and Blaine convinced Burt that they would be able to go.

They couldn't miss Glee again, because Ms. Corcoran would announce their set list and the performers in the first meeting after Spring Break, so they had about a month to perfect it.

It was weird falling asleep without Blaine by his side, after a week of spending every night together, but he knew it wasn't a possibility anymore as long as they still lived at home and he had to respect that.

They had been lucky as they were that Burt had allowed it in the first place and he was sure they would be interrogated as soon as they were more coherent.

His was bone tired though and pretty much passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow even without Blaine to snuggle into. One day, he promised himself before he fell into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately the boys didn't have the Puckermans magical transportation device and it took them quite a while to get to California and back ;)


	25. Chapter 24: Just Dance

Blaine

The weeks after they returned to Ohio passed in a blur of vocal and dance rehearsals, and before he knew it, he was boarding a plane to New York, where this year's National Show Choir Competition was being held. Kurt looked paler than usual and was clutching his hand tightly as he had never been on a plane before. When he assured Blaine that he was more excited than scared, Blaine traded Kurt the window seat and Mercedes sat down on his other side. Fortunately, Kurt's nerves passed fast and soon he was babbling excitedly, giving Blaine a running commentary of what he could see outside. They had no turbulences for which Blaine was grateful, because he wanted Kurt's first flight to go smoothly.

Once all they could see outside was the sky and Kurt got bored looking out of the window, they shared Blaine's ear plugs and listened to music for the rest of their two hour flight, until the plane started to descend and Kurt pressed his face against the window as Manhattan came into view. Because they were arriving at LaGuardia, they had an amazing view of the island and Blaine was bouncing up and down excitedly as well, because he had never seen New York like this in real life either.

As no one really cared for Glee club in their school, they could only afford three rooms for the thirteen of them, so he and Kurt both volunteered to room with the girls. Kurt went with Rachel, Mercedes and Brittany, while Ms. Corcoran put him with Tina, Quinn and Santana, after someone had complained about Brittany and Santana being allowed to share a room when none of the other couples were allowed to do so. Finn, Puck, Mike, Sam and Artie were forced to take the remaining room and he and Kurt were both relieved they didn't have to stay with them.

Because of their strict rehearsal schedule leading up to Nationals, Ms. Corcoran gave them the afternoon off to explore the city, but they had to promise to only leave in groups of at least three. Together with Mercedes and Rachel, they walked down Broadway till the reached Time Square, where they took turns posing for pictures on the red steps in front of the TKTS ticket booth. He wanted to surprise Kurt with tickets for Wicked, but when he saw how much even the cheapest seats cost, he knew it wasn't really in his budget. Tickets for Billy Elliot were on sale however, and Blaine got two for the evening, after clearing it with Ms. Corcoran.

They spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering around Midtown, Kurt proudly holding his hand the entire time. Blaine loved that they could do that again without attracting any stares, but he had to admit that New York was a bit loud and chaotic for his taste and that he much preferred L.A over it. But Kurt was smitten and so he knew he would learn to love the city over time if it made Kurt this happy.

They returned to the hotel in time for dinner, after a quick walk through the southern part of Central Park. In the elevator,  he told Kurt to get dressed for a night out. Kurt squealed, threw his arms around Blaine's neck and smashed their lips together, when Blaine picked him up an hour later and showed him the tickets, earning them a 'wanky' from Santana who was 'hanging out' with Brittany in Kurt's room.

Unfortunately, they couldn't stay behind to get their playbills signed after an, in his opinion, flawless performances, because Ms. Corcoran had told them to return to the hotel as soon as the show was over, but Blaine still counted the night a full success, judging by the way Kurt kissed him in front of his hotel room when they returned.

The next morning, they all packed up their costumes – designed by Kurt and Tina – and after a quick breakfast they left together for the venue where the competition took place. He knew that if they got lucky, they would be allowed to perform three times, first to get into the top ten, then to get into the top three, and ideally once more to determine the winner. Even Blaine was nervous when they were getting ready for their first performance of the day, because he had never performed in front of such a big audience either, but he also knew they were well prepared and hoped for the best.

They started their first set with Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' performed by only the Glee girls in their own version of crazy dresses, before he and the boys performed Michael Jackson's 'Man in the Mirror' while the girls changed into their outfits for the group number.

They had decided to take a risk, when Blaine had shyly confessed that he was an aspiring songwriter, and he felt honored that Ms. Corcoran had decided to use his song for their closing number. He and the other guys quickly took off their jackets backstage while the girls already filled the stage, each of them in a colorful t-shirt, with a large bold L on it. As soon as they opening notes of his ode to high school - 'Loser Like Me' - rang out on stage, they filled their spots between the girls and Rachel started them of with the first verse.

He and Kurt had worked together on the lyrics while he had composed the music, including everything that had ever happened to one of the members of New Directions and when he looked out into the audience, he could see that some people had already picked up the foam Ls they had distributed in the audience before their performance and were waving them in the air.

It had always been his dream to write music, but seeing so many people enjoying his hard work, really cemented it for him that this was what he wanted to do in the future. He just didn't know yet where he would pursue his goals.

To no ones surprise, they advanced to the second round, and Ms. Corcoran took them out for a small celebratory lunch during their break.

They were the last to perform that afternoon and used the time to run through their performance once more. The theme of the second round was duets and Blaine and Kurt had both been floored when they had been told they could perform their very first duet again as long as they used the PG version. Rachel and Mercedes provided the second duet with 'Out here on my own', and Blaine pulled Kurt into a bone-crushing hug as soon as they left the stage.

The announcement for top 3 wouldn't be made until the next morning, so they all returned to their hotel for a late dinner and Blaine quickly called up his dad to let him know what was happening.

They were woken up the next morning by Rachel banging on their door, and Blaine grumpily followed her to her room, where the rest of ND was already waiting, most of them still half asleep as well. Five minutes later, they were jumping around like crazy however, after they had each taken a look at the National's homepage where it was announced that they had advanced to the top three and would be going up against Vocal Adrenaline and some other Glee club for the title.

For the second time in two days they quickly ate breakfast before heading back to the venue, Kurt nearly cutting off his blood circulation with how hard he was clutching Blaine's hand.

"You know, I don't even care anymore if we win or not. Just getting this far is amazing. With the Warblers we never even made it past Regionals while I was at Dalton," he told Kurt on their way to another warm up. "Let's just get out there and have fun."

They had decided to go with another group number in case they got into the top three, the theme being anthems, and had chosen another Michael Jackson number.

The day before, they had watched some of the other choirs perform, but this time, decided to stay backstage until it was their turn to perform 'Black or White'.

In the end they came in second, and while he and the Warblers had never had any issues with Vocal Adrenaline, he understood why the rest of New Direction was so happy they finally defeat their archenemy. That night, Ms. Corcoran took them out to a karaoke bar to celebrate being the second best show choir in the Nation, after they promised they wouldn't try to get alcohol. As always, that wasn't an issue for Kurt, and Blaine was still high on adrenaline so he declined Puck's offer to get him drinks with his fake ID as well.

If they had expected a warm welcome back at school they were sorely mistaken though, as most of the other students didn't seem to have even realized they had competed. Jacob Ben Isreal, who ran an online blog about McKinley High students, even had the guts to mock their second place, writing that McKinley could have only one National champion as a nod to coach Sue Sylvester's Cheerios.

But none of that mattered. They had performed with the best glee clubs of the nation and had made it to the top three. No one could call them losers anymore in his opinion.

Kurt

Kurt was still all smiles even days after they had returned from New York. New York had been everything he had imagined it would be, though he had to admit he hadn't actually seen much of the city. But he had enjoyed the bright lights, and the open atmosphere where no one even batted an eyelash when he and Blaine had shared a kiss in public.

At the moment, he was looking through various fashion magazine in search of the perfect tuxedo. Burt's friend from the tux rental shop had promised to give them a discount and Kurt kept his fingers crossed that he would find something at least remotely stylish. He looked up when there was a knock on his door.

"Can I come in?" Burt asked.

"Sure," Kurt replied and put down his magazine, while Burt sat down on his desk chair.

"So, I wanted to talk to you about your birthday in a few weeks," Burt started, Kurt's face fell.

"I'm going to get a job and start looking for an apartment as soon as school is over," he assured Burt, because he knew that once he was eighteen he couldn't rely on the Hummel's generosity anymore.

"Hey, none of that," Burt interrupted before Kurt could continue and he snapped his mouth shut. "I told you this your home as long as you want it, and I was just going to make sure you know I expect you to stay here until you graduate. Eighteen or not, you are family now and family sticks together, okay?"

Kurt's face brightened and he let himself be pulled into a hug. "Thank you, Burt. You have no idea how much that means to me," he told the man who was more of a father to him than his own had ever been.

"I can get a second job and pay you rent," he offered as soon as Burt released him, because he knew the Hummels would only get money for him from the state until he turned eighteen.

"Oh no you won't," Burt replied and his tone of voice told Kurt there was no use arguing. "Save your money for college. You are a smart kid so I'm sure you can get a scholarship, but you'll still need some extra cash, especially if you want to go to New York."

Kurt knew Burt was right. New York seemed amazing, but it was also one of the most expensive cities in the world. He would probably still be paying off his student loans by the time he turned forty if he went to college in New York. For now he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, because he hadn't even finished his junior year and was months away from applying to colleges.

"So, Blaine tells me Cooper invited you to spend the summer with him?" Burt asked, seated again, and Kurt nodded. "You wanna go?" Kurt shrugged.

"Maybe not the whole summer, but yeah I think so. Cooper seems to think he could get me some kind of job there, and like you said I need to save money for college."

"Well, I have no objections, but I do insist that you don't leave straight away. I don't know if Blaine told you, but every year after school lets out we go camping, and as part of the family you have to come with us, whether you like camping or not," Burt joked and Kurt assumed Blaine wasn't the biggest fan.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world," Kurt told him honestly. He had never been camping before and he didn't really see the appeal, but he was touched that Burt wanted to include him in a family tradition.

"You do understand that I won't let Blaine go off with you for the whole summer, right? Maybe a few weeks but not the whole summer break. What kind of dad would I be if I let my seventeen year old spend the summer with his boyfriend in another state? I don't think that brother of yours is much of a chaperon," Burt winked and Kurt quickly averted his eyes, because he didn't want to lie to Burt, who was certainly right about Cooper. "That's what I thought. But as far as I know you didn't get into trouble, so let's pretend I never asked. I think I'm better off not knowing certain things."

Kurt nodded eagerly, because he would tell Burt the truth if he asked, even if it meant getting his brother into trouble or him and Blaine.

"Alright then. I'll let you get back to your magazines. We'll stop by Enzo's tomorrow to see what he has and I want to talk to you and Blaine before prom," Burt said as he was leaving Kurt's room, and Kurt cringed, because it really hadn't been that long since the dreaded 'talk'.

Fortunately, Blaine took his mind of things for a while when Burt was downstairs preparing diner and if their hair looked a bit ruffled and their lips were red from kissing, no one mentioned it.

Blaine

Thankfully, the pre-prom talk with his dad had been rather painless. He and Kurt had both assured his dad that if they hadn't taken advantage of their motel rooms while they were on the road, he really didn't have to worry about prom. Besides, it was only their junior prom and he was certain that cliché only applied to senior prom.

Because Enzo from the tux rental shop was friends with his dad, they had gotten first pick and after spending three hours trying on tux after tux, even Kurt had found one that was acceptable. He thought they both looked very handsome, especially with their light pink carnations pinned to their lapels. His dad had signed up to be a chaperon during the dance and at first, he hadn't been too happy about it, but it did sooth his nerves a bit, if he was quite honest.

He and Kurt had agreed to meet Rachel, Mercedes and their 'date' Sam for dinner at Breadstix before heading to the dance, and after his dad had snapped what felt like hundreds of pictures of them, they were finally allowed to leave.

Brittany, Santana, Mike and Tina were at the restaurant as well, and they pushed some tables together so they could all sit together

"I still can't believe I got nominated for Prom King," Mike mumbled, but Blaine wasn't too surprised. Mike was on the football team and one of the few people at McKinley who was generally nice. Finn was running with Quinn, as they were apparently dating again, and Puck had teamed up with Lauren Zizes, but unfortunately he didn't believe she had much of a chance, running against Cheerios Quinn and Santana. She definitely had his vote though, because who knew what Karofsky would be up to now without her help.

After dinner, they piled into a limo, Santana's dad had rented for her, and drove off to the school. He and Kurt stayed in the middle of their little group to make sure they got inside safely, and he breathed out a sigh of relief once they arrived inside unharmed: Showtime, he thought.

Burt

Burt Hummel had not signed up as chaperon to embarrass his kids or be a pain in their asses. He was just afraid he would have a second heart attack if Blaine went off to a dance on his own – after what had happened after his first school dance.

Dalton didn't have a prom, but hosted an annual winter dance together with their sister school Crawford Country Day, but as Blaine hadn't had a date when he attended and with the dance being hosted at Dalton, he hadn't been worried then.

His son looked happy though, when he and Kurt arrived with a group of their choir friends, and Burt relaxed a bit when he saw the matching smiles on his boys' faces. He kept a close eye on the other students, glaring at everyone who even dared to look in Kurt and Blaine's direction disapprovingly and his heart skipped a beat when he saw his son square his shoulder and hold out his hand to Kurt. It wasn't even a slow dance, but still all eyes were on the couple, and Burt hoped no one would say anything and ruin prom for the boys. The loud girl from the boys' glee club took over the stage then for a slow song and Burt waited with baited breath for the boys' reaction. Kurt was whispering something into Blaine's ear, and then his son shook his head and pulled Kurt closer. He was so proud of the boys in that moment, a treacherous tear running down his face.

He was happy his son had found someone who made him happy and who made him face his own demons, even if that meant having to watch him grow up in front of him without being able to stop it. He was pulled from his musings, when that crazy cheerleading coach pushed the high school principal in front of him.

"What's going on?" he asked, hoping nothing was wrong.

"Figgins here has the results for the vote for Prom Queen and King and thought he would just read out the results. I thought you might be interested in reading them," coach Sylvester spat, and Burt scratched his bald head confusedly. He had no clue what was going on, but still pulled a piece of paper out of the envelope.

His hands started shaking the moment he saw what was written there. 'Majority of votes for Prom Queen through write in votes: Kurt Anderson.'

"If you don't want me to sue this school for real this time, you will crown whatever girl got most of the votes," he got right up in the principal's face who looked scared. 'Good', Burt thought. He should fear the wrath of Burt Hummel, if he dared to publicly humiliate one of his boys.

"But, I," the principal stuttered, but Burt didn't let him finish.

"The media would have a field day with this," he threatened and principal Figgins' face fell.

"Santana Lopez it is," he muttered and Burt wondered if anyone at the school knew that the head cheerleader was playing for the other team as well or if they were just more accepting of lesbians. The two girls hadn't been really secretive about their relationship during Kurt's party, but maybe that was because only the Glee club had been around, he mused before turning to coach Sylvester.

"Thank you for letting me know," he told her.

"I didn't do it for Porcelain. Since my reign here, not once has a non-cheerleader taken the crown and I intend to keep it that way," she replied, but her soft smile told him that she had done it to protect Kurt. He gave her a curt nod, a small smile on his face as well.

"I guess it's a good thing then, Kurt never joined your cheerleading group," he told her before he spotted that kid with the Mohawk lurking around the punch bowl.

Half an hour later, Santana Lopez got crowned Prom Queen, and the quiet Asian kid Prom King. They looked awkward, sharing their first dance, but at least he had saved Kurt from being humiliated in front of his classmates. There was some whispering, but no one dared to speak up and Burt hoped that whoever was responsible for the write in idea would keep his or her mouth shut out of fear of getting into trouble. As far as Burt was concerned, Kurt would never hear about that, because he had been hurt enough by the people he went to school with. He would not let some stupid high school idiots ruin the boys’ first school dance together.

Once the dance was over, he drove the boys back to his son's car which was still parked in front of Breadstix and after reminding them to be home by two and to call if they had been drinking he let them go to Santana's after party.

As soon as the boys had driven off, he walked into Breadstix and sat down opposite Carole. "I hope you haven't been waiting long," he told her after kissing her on the cheek.

Carole shook her head. "I only dropped Finn off here a couple of minutes ago myself. I just hope he'll behave himself, especially now that he is back together with that Quinn girl. One pregnancy scare before I'm even forty was enough," she added with a sigh.

"Finn's not a bad kid, he just needs some guidance," he remarked. "Speaking of which. I wanted to invite you and Finn to join me and the boys for our camping trip. I already looked into it and I could rent a cabin for the five of us," he told his girlfriend.

Carole beamed at him, before her expression sobered. "What about the boys though? Don't they hate each other?"

Burt shrugged. As far as he knew they had talked it out and Blaine had given him his blessing.

"They'll have to find a way to get along. Especially if we want to stick to the plan."

He wasn't getting any younger and he knew he wanted Carole in his life. He was just hoping the boys would take it well, when he and Carole made their announcement.

"I think it will be okay. They want us to be happy," Carole agreed, before she asked him about prom.

He quickly filled her in, including the story about Prom Queen, because he was certain he could trust her to keep the secret, before they both went their separate ways to make sure their kids came home on time.

They had taken advantage of Spring Break, with Finn spending many nights at Puck's and his boys in California, but had agreed not to have sleepovers when the kids where home before talking to them, and this was not a conversation Burt looked forward to having. Because if he knew his son, he would probably try to tell him he should be allowed to have sleepovers with Kurt if Burt was having them. And that was definitely not happening.

He wasn't stupid. He was certain they had shared a bed when they'd been traveling and though he believed them when they said nothing had happened, he didn't want it to become a habit. After all, they were still only juniors in high school and as long as they were living under his roof he was making the rules, whether they liked them or not.

Once he arrived home, he went upstairs and sat down in front of his computer to confirm his booking. Kurt's eighteenth birthday was two weeks after school ended and he knew his son was planning a party, so he reserved a cabin for them at Caesar Creek State Park for the first week of June. Before he turned off his computer, he sent a quick email to Cooper, letting him know that he was okay with Kurt coming to L.A any time after that.

By the time one o'clock came around, he barely managed to keep his eyes open and so he went to bed hoping he could trust the boys to come home on time without him waiting up for them. He woke shortly after three o'clock and a quick look into Blaine's room confirmed that the boys were back and both in their own rooms. He went back to bed with a smile on his face, because not only did they not end the evening in the emergency room, but his son was smiling in his sleep.


	26. Chapter 25: It gets better

Kurt

Before he knew it, his junior year was over and he and Blaine suddenly had a lot of free time on their hands when they weren't working in Burt's shop. The past two weeks, they had attended pool parties hosted by their New Directions friends and even one at Blaine's friend David's house outside of Columbus.

While he still didn't feel comfortable taking his own shirt off in front of Blaine – or anyone really – he most definitely wasn't complaining when his boyfriend did. He could spend hours watching drops of water slowly make their way down Blaine's toned torso. It earned him some teasing, mostly from Santana, but he knew she wasn't trying to be mean or imply that it was wrong that he was looking at Blaine like that, so he usually just rolled his eyes and shooed her away.

The last weekend of May brought his eighteenth birthday – his freedom so to speak – and now that he knew he would still have a home with the Hummels after it, he was actually looking forward to becoming a legal adult.

He knew Blaine had a party planed for him – though he wasn't supposed to know that, but Rachel apparently couldn't keep a secret to save her life – and though he would have been happy to just go out to dinner with Burt and Blaine, he vowed to act appropriately surprised to humor his boyfriend.

Still, he had some fun with Blaine, when the other boy tried to get him out of the house that Saturday, telling his boyfriend he'd rather spend the day cuddling with him on the couch than help Burt find a new outfit for his date with Carole. Hours later, he and Burt returned from the mall with a new suit for Blaine's dad, and Kurt checked his hair again in the rear view mirror because he wanted to look fabulous for the party - surprise or not.

"I'm guessing someone spilled the beans already?" Burt chuckled and Kurt nodded. "Alright then. So let me repeat this before I leave. I want the house to be standing and cleaned up when I get back tomorrow and if people are drinking don't let them drive home. I'd rather they spend the night then crash their cars."

Kurt again promised to keep an eye on the party, because he and Burt were aware he wouldn't be drinking – he had had a small glass of champagne with Burt and Blaine for his birthday brunch – as he was still wary of alcohol, though he was learning it was okay if consumed in moderation. He could see himself enjoying a glass of wine for dinner every now and then one day in the future, but he knew he would probably never get drunk at parties for no good reason. His parents had been a cautionary tale and Kurt didn't intend to ever end up like them.

He got out of the car and waved at Burt who would be spending the night at Carole's – and hadn't that been a cringe worthy discussion – while Finn was supposed to stay at their place. Kurt supposed it was sort of a test run, because you had to be blind not to see in which direction Burt and Carole's relationship was going.

As soon as he opened the front door, a chorus of 'surprise' greeted him, with his friends from school and Blaine's friends Wes and David poking their heads in from the living room. Most shocking however – and Kurt didn't have to fake his surprise for that – was that his half brother was in his living room as well.

"What are you doing here, Cooper?" he asked, because he hadn't thought he would see him again before he went to L.A in a few weeks.

"Couldn't miss my little bro becoming legal. I feel like I should take you to a strip club or something now – the gay variety, don't worry," he added when Kurt just looked shocked. An arm wrapped around his waist possessively from behind and Kurt relaxed into his boyfriend's embrace.

"Um, thanks for the offer Cooper, but I don't think that's my thing," he replied, sure his face must be bright red. After all, why would he want to look at strange men when he had his gorgeous boyfriend.

"Guess it's good then that I got you something other than porn," Cooper joked and Kurt choked on air, his ears turning red as well.

"What did you get me?" he asked apprehensively, because he didn't put it past Cooper to have gotten him something equally embarrassing just to show how cool he was with Kurt being gay.

Before accepting his brother's present, they all moved into the Hummel backyard where Mike and Sam were working the grill, while Puck played bartender. Even though he was a bit scared, he accepted Cooper's present with a smile on his face and was relieved when he saw that it was way too small to contain anything mortifying. When he finally managed to tear the envelope open, he gasped before he pulled his half-brother into a brief hug.

"Thank you Cooper," he whispered, clutching the one-way ticket to Los Angeles to his chest. He hadn't minded the road trip with Blaine too much, but he was relieved he would be flying this time, especially because Blaine wouldn't join him at first.

"That's not all," Cooper replied and pointed at another piece of paper sticking out of the envelope.

He quickly scanned the contents, before his eyes widened. "You got me a job on a movie set," he asked, not believing what he was reading. Cooper nodded.

"It's nothing fancy. Just a small independent film. I knew they needed another runner, so I asked the producer to hire you, after telling him you were thinking about going to college for film."

"But I'm not," Kurt interjected, but Cooper brushed him off.

"Details, details. They won't be paying you much, but you'll get to know the 'biz a bit. Might make you change your mind about joining me out west next year."

Kurt was certain it wouldn't but he was still grateful Cooper had managed to score him such an exiting 'summer job'. Granted, he knew next to nothing about the production side of movies, but it had to be cool and exiting, right? He quickly rushed upstairs and put Cooper's gift onto his desk, before he went back outside where he was showered with even more presents. Burt had gotten him tickets for a Lady Gaga concert in the fall and had allowed him and Blaine to stay overnight in Chicago for it, but Kurt still shrieked when he opened Blaine's present and saw that he had gotten them a room for a second night and tickets for the Chicago production of _Wicked_. The rest of New Direction had apparently banded together and had gotten him a gift card for the mall worth a hundred and fifty dollars. He wasn't normally a very touchy feely person, but he still offered a hug to whoever wanted one.

To his surprise, Finn approached him a while later, after disentangling himself from Quinn. He thrust a sloppily wrapped present into his hand and shifted awkwardly while he watched Kurt unwrapped it.

"Rachel said you like show tunes," he mumbled and Kurt wondered when Finn and Rachel had started talking again. As far as he knew, she was still resolved not to get back together with Finn again. He quickly nodded, before he slowly unwrapped the quarterback's present.

'The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber' was written across the CD Finn had gotten him and Kurt gave him a genuine smile. "Thank you, Finn. I really like it," he told him honestly, before he was being pulled into an awkward one-armed hug. Kurt thought Finn must really love his mom a lot if he acted like that to make her happy.

A while later the party was in full swing, most of the members of ND well on their way to being tipsy, and so Kurt took it upon himself to go open the door when the bell rang.

"Mrs. Hoffs," he said in surprise when he came face to face with his social worker.

"Happy birthday, Kurt," the kind woman replied before she added, "can I come in for a moment?"

Kurt nodded and led her into the living room, away from the party outside. A stack of papers was pushed over to him once they were seated and Kurt raised an eyebrow in question. "Somehow I doubt that's a fancy birthday present for me," he joked.

Mrs. Hoffs gave him a small smile. "Nothing bad I promise. Just a few more things I need you to sign."

He briefly scanned the documents, but froze when he saw one about their house. "Our house is getting foreclosed?" he asked, surprised by this turn of events. "Is my mom giving up on it?"

His former social worker shook her head. "Your mother is not being released. She failed to comply with the terms of her early release and will have to serve out her sentence. Neither one of your parents has been paying the mortgage of the house for a while and now that they are both in jail, payments have completely stopped. If there are things you want to keep, I advise you stop by your old house soon."

Kurt nodded numbly. He barely had any good memories about the house, but it had been his home for the past ten years. Did he want to take something? He had no clue.

"Thank you. I'll think about it," he finally forced out.

"You do that," Mrs. Hoffs smiled at him, before she briefly squeezed his hand. "You are a smart kid, Kurt and I wish you the best of luck for your future. Just know that if you ever need something, I'm only a phone call away."

He felt tears welling up in his eyes, because he knew how much his social worker had done for him. She had ensured that he could stay with the Hummels until the court reached its final decision, had found his half-brother and most importantly had removed him from a situation he had no clue how to deal with anymore.

"Kurt," he heard Blaine call out. "Come on, you need to blow out your candles."

He gave Mrs. Hoffs a watery smile, before he quickly threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "Thank you," he whispered, before he escorted her to the door.

Before joining the party again, he splashed some water on his face to wipe away any traces his unshed tears might have left. The smile he put on his face was genuine though. One year ago, he had thought he would be homeless once his eighteenth birthday came around - and probably not by choice – completely on his own. But now, he not only had friends who wanted to celebrate his birthday with him, he had a home.

Eighteen candles were flickering in the gentle breeze when Kurt finally approached his cake. "Make a wish," Blaine, who was hugging him from behind, whispered.

"I've got everything I ever wanted right here," he whispered back, traitorous tears threatening to spill over once more, before he leaned forward and blew the candles out. A song Blaine had been listening to on the radio a lot lately came to his mind, but as he looked around the Hummel's backyard he smiled a toothy smile, because it wouldn't be a solo for him tonight.

Blaine

When his dad told him and Kurt to join him in the living room for a talk, for a moment he thought he would get in trouble for the party after all, even though he and Kurt had cleaned up and thrown out the liquor bottles before his dad returned from his 'sleepover'. A thought that made him shudder because no one wanted to think about one's parents like that. To his relief his dad did not in fact want to talk about the party, but his relief was short lived.

"I probably should have told you about this sooner, but I wanted to avoid a discussion because my decision is final," his dad started once he and Kurt were facing him on the couch.

"What's this about, dad?" he asked dreading the answer, because his dad looked equal parts guilty and determined.

"I invited Carole and Finn to join us on our trip to Caesar Creek," his dad explained, and Blaine involuntarily clenched the hand that was holding Kurt's, causing his boyfriend to wince. "Sorry," he mumbled before relaxing it again.

He wanted to argue that this trip was their thing, their tradition and that he didn't want the Hudsons with them even though he wasn't a fan of camping. But he knew the argument was moot. His dad had invited Kurt along, because he considered him to be part of the family, and if his dad's relationship with Carole was going the direction he thought it was going he would probably have to come to term with the fact that his dad wanted Carole to be part of the family as well.

"I'm not sharing a tent with Finn," he muttered under his breath, but his dad still caught it. "And you wouldn't be sharing a tent with Kurt either," he replied his eyebrow raised and Blaine blushed, remembering when his dad had made him watch Brokeback Mountain with him to show his support.

"Then where will we sleep?" Kurt piped up from next to him. His boyfriend didn't look too happy either, but was apparently at least trying to keep an open mind.

"I got us a cabin this time. Two rooms, one for Carole and I and one for the three of you – there are bunk beds," he added when Blaine perked up.

"I want you all on your best behavior – use the time to find some common ground and get past whatever issue the three of you have," his dad continued and Blaine nodded mechanically. He had been looking forward to spending tons of time with Kurt at the lake – maybe trying to get Kurt out of his shirt for once – while his dad met up with his fishing buddies, but now that they would have Finn tagging along, that probably wouldn't happen. Maybe they could find Finn some girl there he could chase around – apparently he and Quinn were on the rocks again as well, because Finn had kissed Rachel a little too enthusiastically during a game of spin the bottle – so he wouldn't be their third wheel all the time.

"Sure dad," he promised when his dad stared him down and Kurt repeated the sentiment.

"We are going upstairs," he announced, pulling Kurt up with him. He needed to talk about his real feelings and unfortunately he couldn't do that with his dad around.

"Door open," his dad reminded them and Blaine rolled his eyes. As if he and Kurt would do anything 'inappropriate' with his dad in the house.

"You okay?" his boyfriend asked once they were in his room, the door nearly all the way closed.

"Finn's been nicer lately, but I was really looking forward to it being just the three of us," he sighed and dropped his head on Kurt's shoulder when his boyfriend wrapped his arm around him.

"I didn't mean about Finn, I meant about your dad and Carole," Kurt explained and Blaine looked at him puzzled.

"What about them?"

"Doesn't it sound like they are super serious about one another if they are already going on a 'family' vacation together. Do you think your dad is going to marry her?"

Blaine shrugged. He hadn't thought that far ahead. Sure, he didn't want his dad to be alone for the rest of his life, but he never had imagined that his dad would remarry at some point and have more kids. It had been just the two of them for so long and it was weird thinking about expanding the family even further.

"I don't know, but I think he might ask her to move in together soon. Why else would he be talking to a realtor?" He knew it wasn't nice to eavesdrop, but once he had heard who his dad was talking to a few days ago he couldn't stop listening.

"As long as we don't have to share with Finn," Kurt joked and Blaine was happy to hear that his boyfriend had accepted that he was part of the family as well now and wouldn't go anywhere for his senior year. Still, he shuddered when he tried to imagine having to share a room with Finn.

He wasn't usually obsessed with the state of his room like Kurt, but he had seen what the boys' hotel room had looked like. If his dad insisted that Carole and Finn moved in with them, the only way he was going to agree was if he and Kurt were allowed to share a room unless they moved to bigger house.

After moving a few times in his life already, he didn't have any sentimental attachment to the house, though he would forever remember it as the place he and Kurt had first lived together. If his dad wanted to combine the Hudson and the Hummel-Anderson household he wouldn't be opposed to moving to a bigger house if it meant they would all have their own space.

He was oddly okay with it come to think of it, because he had seen how happy Carole made his dad and he had only one year left at home before he and Kurt would leave for college. If it kept the smile on his dad's face he would survive living in the same house as Finn Hudson.

"Let's just see how the trip goes," he decided. "If we haven't killed him after spending a week in close quarters I think we'll survive the next year come what may.

"I will love you until my dying day," Kurt immediately sang and Blaine smiled at him fondly, before he joined in and they finished the duet together.

Later that night, after saying goodnight to Kurt and assuring his dad they were both in their own rooms, he was staring at the ceiling as sleep was evading him. Some days it was overwhelming how much his life had changed in the past year. He wasn't the lead singer of the Warblers anymore, but had made it through a year of public school relatively unharmed. His dad was dating for the first time since his mother had died and he might gain a stepmother and stepbrother soon. And then there was Kurt. Beautiful and kind Kurt who had to endure so much in his young life already. Things Blaine couldn't even really imagine. But Kurt had come back into his life and was finally trusting him once more. Just becoming Kurt's friend again had made him happier than he had been in years, but then something even better had happened. He had fallen in love with his childhood best friend and for some reasons his feelings had been returned.

A year ago, he and his dad had decided that he would leave Dalton and move back to Lima. He had expected to get through the year, had hoped he would make a few friends, but never had he imagined what he had gotten instead. Some might say Blaine Hummel was the luckiest boy in the world.

 

Kurt

"And how do you feel about that?" Dr. Stine asked after Kurt relayed what Mrs. Hoffs had told him. Kurt shrugged. "Angry, sad, disappointed? I'm not sure. Mostly, I'm just not surprised she didn't even try to get better. My dad at least admitted he had done something wrong, but my mother couldn't even try to get out of jail early? It just tells me that she really doesn't care about me, and that I shouldn't pay any attention to the things she used to say to me, because they weren't said because she thought they were for my own good. All she wanted was to bring me down and make my life as miserable as hers."

Dr. Stine nodded and wrote something down in her notebook. "You've come far since we met," she told him once she was done writing and Kurt gave her a small smile. Since before prom they had reduced his sessions to twice a month and he was starting to feel confident he wouldn't need to see his therapist much longer.

"And I'm glad you decided to stay with the Hummels. They are good for you," she continued and Kurt nodded enthusiastically. He knew he wouldn't be where he was at the moment if it hadn't been for Burt and Blaine.

"That's actually something I'd like to talk about," Kurt replied after getting his thoughts in order.

"You haven't changed your mind, have you? I'm not saying it's impossible, but I wouldn't advise you to strike out on your own while you are still in school. You should focus on that if you want get into the colleges we talked about."

Kurt shook his head. "No, uh. It's about Blaine." He felt his cheeks heat up before he even started talking about what he wanted to discuss.

"Go on."

"Well, there are certain rules for Blaine and I and so far I was relieved we have them because I wasn't ready to do anything with Blaine and it was a good excuse to not do stuff," he rushed out hoping the therapist caught his drift.

"First, Kurt, you always have the right to say no if you are not comfortable with something and if your partner makes you feel bad about that, then I would suggest you reevaluate the relationship."

"Blaine's not pressuring me," he quickly assured her. "But I was still glad we had them, because I knew he wouldn't try anything because he knew I didn't want to break his dad's trust."

"Good. We all move at our own pace and even if your partner seems to be ready before you are, he has to respect you aren't. But let's talk about the other thing you said. You said you _were_ glad those rules are in place _so far._ Does that mean things have changed?"

Kurt picked at his nails. The problem was he wasn't sure himself. He knew Blaine wanted to do more than just make out and at least his body wanted to as well. But the thought of taking his clothes off in front of Blaine still made his skin crawl and he hated that. He wanted to move forward, give in to his desires but something was still holding him back.

"I think I'm ready to do more with him, but at the same time I can't bring myself to do it, if that makes sense. I know he doesn't see me the way I think about myself and that he would never intentionally hurt him. I trust him, but something is holding me back."

"Well, I'd say there is a difference between being nervous about something and the feelings you described. And if you force yourself to get past that, I don't think either of you will be happy. I'd advise you to trust your gut in this. When the time is right, you'll know. Probably when the thought doesn't make your skin crawl, but makes you excited and nervous at the same time."

Kurt nodded. It was what he had been thinking himself, but it was good to hear it from someone outside of the relationship. But some days, he just hated his stupid hiccups, his insecurities thanks to his mother. He wanted to be a normal teenager for once. A normal hormonal eighteen year old, who couldn't wait to get into his boyfriend's pants. Who took his t-shirt off when he went swimming like a normal person, someone who didn't believe a hateful woman when she called him fat even though he had been just skin and bones.

He and Blaine would spend four weeks together in California this summer and he wanted to do all the things other teenagers did when they got away from their parents. The problem was just, that he still didn't know how to get there. And he knew he would have to take the lead, because Blaine was way too scared to come off as pushy if he were the one who made the first move.

"So you are saying I shouldn't force the issue and let things happen organically?" Dr. Stine nodded.

"Like I said, you made so much progress during these past five months. This is just another thing you'll have to figure out. And if you haven't yet, talk to your boyfriend about how you feel. It will probably help if you are both on the same page."

Fortunately, talking was something they were good at – at least since they had gotten together. They had learned from past mistakes, when not telling one another the truth had hurt them both more than just biting the bullet and being honest about their feelings.

"And speaking of talking," Dr. Stine continued. "You told me you were going to California for two months this summer. What we can do is I can set you up with someone out west or we’ll see how you're doing without talking to me – as long as you promise to call the second you feel that there are things you aren't equipped to handle on your own. We'll regroup in the fall and see if you still need to see me on a regular basis or if we can agree on a just when you need me basis."

He didn't really want to air his dirty laundry with another complete stranger, so he told her he would be fine on his own. He knew Cooper would probably not be much help if he needed it, but his brother had shared experiences and maybe it would be good for them to talk about certain things in their past.

"Alright then. I hope you have a good time with your brother and don't hesitate to call if you have any problems," Dr. Stine reminded him again and Kurt nodded.

Burt was waiting outside for him, having driven him because Kurt's car was in the shop for a check up.

"She refer you to someone in L.A.?" he asked when Kurt joined him and Kurt shook his head.

"She thinks I can do it on my own for the two months and we’ll see if I still need her when I get back."

Burt nodded. "Good. But if you still need her when you get back, I want you to keep seeing her. I know you worry about the money, but I rather see you healthy and happy then save some money and have to worry about you."

Kurt cursed the fact that he was a crier. Everything seemed to set him off nowadays. Burt just hugged him though before he changed the subject.

"Let's go. I still need to get bait for our trip. I don't suppose you changed your mind about joining me."

Kurt shuddered. After Blaine had told him horror stories about a fishing trip with his dad when he had been younger – something about the poor worms he had stuffed under his shirt to save them from his dad – fishing was the last thing he wanted to give a try.

"Maybe Finn would like to come," he suggested, not completely selflessly. If Finn went fishing with Burt, he wouldn't hang around him and Blaine.

"Good idea. That boy needs some male role models in his life. I know Carole did the best she could, but growing up without a dad seems to have messed him up a bit as well."

In that respect, he, Blaine and Finn had more in common then he had originally thought. Both Finn and Blaine had spent most of their lives with only one parent, and though Kurt had had two, he had never had a 'proper' family either.

Until now. So he would do his best to ensure the camping trip was a success. Because he wasn't the only one who deserved a chance at a family.

Burt

They were at a rest stop half way to their destination when Burt decided to have a little talk with Finn. Carole and his boys had gone inside to pick out some healthy snacks for the rest of the drive and he knew it might be his last opportunity to have a private chat with his girlfriend's son.

"I'm glad you and your mom could join us for this trip," he started, trying to put the tall teenager at ease who looked nervous now that they were alone.

"So you don't hate me anymore for being mean to Kurt and Blaine?" Finn asked looking more like a little boy then a tall seventeen year old.

Burt shook his head. "Look Finn, I get it. I was on the team in high school as well and I definitely wasn't always as open about things as I am now. But I love my son more than anything in the world and will always do my best to see him happy. And if being with another boy makes him happy, then why should I care. Kurt and Blaine, they are both good kids and I want you to give them a chance. Get to know them and make up your own mind.

Finn seemed to contemplate what he was saying for a moment before he nodded. "I was just jealous of Blaine when he transferred, because he seemed so much better at everything than I was and people listened to him and liked him for himself even though they knew he was gay. It didn't seem fair that he had it so easy," Finn mumbled and Burt looked at him in surprise.

After all his son had been through in public school, he was surprised to hear someone describe him like that.

"What about Kurt then? What did he ever do to you?" Finn dug his toe into the ground and fidgeted.

"Honestly, I didn't care about him one way or another. He was always a little weird, kept to himself and I didn't even notice him until Karofsky pointed him out to me in middle school. I wasn't really popular back then either, but Karofsky promised that if I stuck with him he would get me some pull. I couldn't really go against him at McKinley when he was the one who helped me become popular. I know you may think that's silly, but in high school popularity is everything."

Didn't he know. Burt had been a huge jerk, thinking he was better than the other students because he played football once too, before his mom had set him straight and Blaine’s mom had helped him change his ways as well.

"High school is going to end eventually, Finn, and once you graduate no one is going to care that you were once the high school quarterback. People are going to look down on you because bullies are so not cool in the real world."

Finn looked like he wanted to protest, but Burt soldiered on. "Look, Finn. I don't expect you to start PFLAG or something like that at school. All I'm asking you is that you do the right thing come fall. Use your position to help people rather than hurt them."

Whatever Finn wanted to say, he cut off mid-word as Carole and his boys returned from the gas station shop. "There weren't a lot of healthy options but we got some fruit,” Carole announced before she hopped into the backseat she shared with Kurt and Blaine.

They had both agreed not to force the boys to be close, because they didn't want either of them to be uncomfortable and so he had offered Finn the passenger seat under the guise of him being too tall for the backseat.

Fortunately, the rest of the drive went by without any incidents and Burt had to suppress a smile when halfway through all three boys started to sing along with the songs playing on the radio. Personally, he would have preferred listening to a country station, but he was happy to hear the boys had at least something they were all passionate about.

The cabin was in the eastern part of the park, a few miles away from the camping ground he and Blaine had always stayed at in the park, but it looked comfortable and spacious enough to house all five of them.

Finn and Blaine both took the top bunks while Kurt sat down on the one underneath Blaine. "Alright guys. We won't give you a curfew while we are here, but I expect each of you to sleep in your own beds each night, understood?" he told them, before helping Carole unpack in their room. Finn looked relieved at his announcement, while his son just rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'having Hudson in the room would kill the mood immediately anyway.' Good, Burt thought, smirking. At least with Finn around the boys would behave themselves not that they had ever given him any reason not to trust them, but he knew how it was. Something always happened at summer camp.

He and Carole decided to go for a walk while the boys unpacked, showing her around the park as she had never been before. The picked up some fresh fish for dinner and Burt couldn't wait to go fishing himself. "You think Finn might want to join me for my fishing trip?" he asked his girlfriend as they left the small convenience store hand in hand like some damn teenagers.

"I think he’s down with pretty much everything. Not having his dad when he grew up, he always latched on to the guys I was dating if he got to meet them. So yeah, I think it would make him happy if you took him with you."

The cabin was empty when they returned, a post it stuck to the door telling them that the boys had gone down to the lake, and Burt quickly gutted the fish while Carole chopped some vegetable. Once everything was in the oven, they settled on the couch, and before he knew it, they were actually making out on the couch. Apparently being with Carole was turning him into a teenager, but he couldn't give a damn at the moment.

That was until he heard a gasp behind him and slowly looked up. Kurt was looking everywhere but at them, while Finn and Blaine both made a face. "Dad," his son whined while Finn muttered something that sounded like 'gross, mom'. He quickly got off the couch and covered Carole, who was smoothing her skirt down before pulling her with him into the kitchen.

"Dinner is ready in ten," he called over his shoulder and he and Carole started giggling as soon as the door closed behind them. "Well, you wanted them to bond over things they had in common," Carole sniggered.

"Yeah, but I wasn't thinking about that. If I had they would have started getting along a while ago," Burt replied, still laughing himself.

Dinner was a bit awkward because neither of the boys would look at him or Carole, but he didn't mind because he could see the looks they shared between one another. If 'traumatizing' his son and his girlfriend's son got them talking and bonding, maybe they should do it more often. After all, it wasn't like it was a chore.

Blaine

It was the summer before he was supposed to start high school, shortly before his dad made the announcement about Dalton, when Blaine had discovered a tiny beach that no one else ever visited. He hadn't felt safe around the other teenagers, keeping to himself mostly when he wasn't with his dad and one day he had wandered into the strip of wood behind the camping ground, desperate to get away from everyone else. He had stumbled over a root and when he had lifted his head, he had discovered the tiny beach hidden from prying eyes by the rock formation further west. It had become his safe haven, his spot where he could think, or just let his body float in the water, without other people's eyes on him. Not even his dad knew about the spot but he couldn't wait to show it to Kurt.

Getting rid off Finn, was surprisingly easy. All he had to do was mention that the beach volleyball areas were always frequented by 'hot' girls and Finn had taken off, forgetting completely that he was supposed to hang out with him and Kurt while their parents did their own thing.

He and Kurt had gotten along with Finn surprisingly well the past two days, after bemoaning their loss of innocence after walking in on his dad and Carole on the couch. To avoid another incident like that, they had left soon after dinner and had spent the night around a bonfire with other kids their age. He hadn't let go of Kurt's hand – not even when some asshole jock had sneered at them – and they had ended up singing songs around the fire, while he and Finn shared a beer.

The next day was spent with the family. They had taken a boat out on the lake and while he and Finn kept jumping in, Kurt and Carole had sat down under an umbrella to stay out of the sun. Their had been a few moments of tense silence when Finn had asked Kurt if the reason he wasn't swimming with them was because he couldn't swim, but luckily Kurt's lecture about skin cancer had driven Finn right back into the water before Finn could make his boyfriend more uncomfortable.

He wished there was something more he could do to help Kurt with his insecurities, but he didn't want to push. So he didn't say anything when later that afternoon, Kurt waddled into the water, dark grey t-shirt still covering his lovely pale skin. It was a bit embarrassing what kind of effect Kurt had on him with his wet t-shirt clinging to his body, so maybe it was for the best that Kurt never took his shirt off. He would probably immediately combust on the spot.

So maybe, it wasn't the best idea to take Kurt to a secluded spot, when he had trouble behaving around him lately. The last thing he'd ever want was to be the guy that pushed, that couldn't wait for his boyfriend to be ready. Fortunately, the cold lake wasn't that far away any more and he ripped his shirt off and jumped in as soon as he dropped his bag on the tiny beach.

Kurt shot him a confused look, but luckily didn't comment on his strange behavior as he set up a blanket and put their picnic basket down next to it while Blaine dove under water, letting the cold do its job. When he broke through the surface again, Kurt was staring out to him, a look on his face Blaine couldn't interpret. It was a mixture of fear and fierce determination and when he saw his boyfriend fiddle with the hem of his t-shirt, he understood what Kurt was thinking about doing.

He turned away from the beach and looked out on the lake to give Kurt his privacy, to let him come to his own decision without Blaine staring at him. Even when he heard a body step into the water behind him, he didn't turn. Waited patiently.

Only when a cool hand touched his arm, did he turn slowly. Only Kurt's head was poking out of the water, but while the rest of his body was submerged under the water, he could tell that Kurt had decided to risk skin cancer so to speak. Blaine gave his boyfriend an encouraging smile, before he swam further out into the lake, Kurt steadily by his side. They didn't talk, just enjoyed each other's company, and Blaine was glad to see Kurt gradually relax the longer they stayed in the water.

Once Kurt's lips turned blue and he started to shiver, he knew it was time to get out though. "You wanna get out first? I can wait," he asked, but Kurt gave him a nervous smile and shook his head.

"Don't be silly. You look like you're about to turn into an icicle yourself." Blaine giggled when he imagined what they would look like frozen over, and before he knew it, his feet were touching the ground once more and he stepped out of the lake, Kurt by his side.

Kurt's pale skin looked beautiful in the noon sun light, finally unmarred by bruises, and Blaine wanted nothing more than reach out and touch, but he kept his hands to himself, needing Kurt to know he could trust him with this and that he wouldn't abuse Kurt's trust.

He held out a towel for Kurt, who accepted it with a grateful smile and Blaine turned a bit to avoid shamelessly ogling Kurt while he patted himself dry.

From the corner of his eye he could see Kurt eye his t-shirt, but after a moment of hesitation he sat down next to Blaine on the blanket, the picnic basket serving as buffer between them.

"Just so you know. You have nothing to worry about – I think you are beautiful," Blaine finally allowed himself to whisper and he put as much love into it as possible. Kurt had wrapped his arms around himself after he had sat down, but was slowly letting go now, vulnerability showing in his every movement.

"You do?" he asked quietly and Blaine nodded enthusiastically, because he'd rather his boyfriend thought he was a horny perv than that he wasn't attractive.

There was a small smile on Kurt's face, an almost bashful smile and Blaine smiled back fondly until Kurt ducked his head and busied himself with the contents of the basket, carefully arranging sandwiches on the blanket.

Once they were done with eating, they lay down next to each other, sharing Blaine's head phones to listen to some music, until Kurt sat up abruptly and froze.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked, blinking against the sun.

"I can't believe I forgot to put on sunscreen," Kurt replied frantically, already looking all over himself to check for damage.

"Relax, you haven't burned yet and you know I think your freckles are adorable," Blaine assured him before picking up the sunscreen with the highest SPF known to men.

"Turn around," he instructed his boyfriend, and after regarding his hand warily for a moment, Kurt complied.

Not too much time had passed since they had visited Cooper in L.A, but he could feel how Kurt's body had changed yet again. He had grown several inches since the start of the school year, making him taller than Blaine now, and he was continuously getting stronger, thanks to dance rehearsals in Glee and working in his dad's shop.

He applied the sunscreen as reverently as possible, letting his hands ghost over Kurt's lovely shoulders maybe a bit longer than strictly necessary, but Kurt after tensing initially, relaxed into the touch, encouraging him to keep stroking his back lightly.

Only when he had covered Kurt's back and arms twice did he let go, because as nice as it was getting to touch Kurt like this, he didn't want him to think he was taking advantage of the situation.

But Kurt always zigged when he thought he was about to zag, and he suddenly found himself on his back on the blanket with Kurt halfway on top of him pressing their chests together.

Kurt's chest was smooth, the way his only was after waxing, and he smiled up at his boyfriend dopily. He could still feel his ribs through his skin, but they weren't sticking out anymore like they had only a few months back and when Kurt bent down to kiss him, he shoved all other thoughts to the back of his mind, and lost himself in Kurt's touches, shivering when pale fingers tentatively trailed up and down his arms.

It was better than any fantasy he had ever entertained about their future – usually just making him feel guilty for using his boyfriend as wank material – because he could feel the love radiating off of Kurt. His touches were more tentative than fantasy Kurt's but knowing that Kurt had never touched anyone like this before, knowing that this was something they both hadn't shared with anyone else, made his heartbeat speed up and stutter at the same time.

He wasn't sure how much time passed, how long they spent just kissing each other lazily without any ultimate goal or agenda, but he still groaned when his phone started to ring next to him on the blanket.

"Dudes where are you? I'm bored – all the hot girls were gone when I got back from lunch," Finn whined and Blaine sighed as Kurt rolled off of him, massaging his side where the stones had dug into his flesh.

"Meet us at the cabin in fifteen," he replied, because he knew his dad expected him and Kurt to actually spend time with Finn while they were on a trip and he didn't want his dad to question their whereabouts if Finn spilled that they hadn't been with him. He had had enough embarrassing conversations with his dad to last a lifetime.

They both quickly packed up their picnic and Blaine pouted when Kurt pulled his shirt back on. The afternoon sun was burning down on them, so he left off his own as he and Kurt wandered through the woods back to their cabin. Finn was already waiting for them, bouncing a soccer ball, but his eyes widened when he and Kurt approached.

"Woah, dude. Did you, like, try to eat him?" Finn asked gaping at Kurt and his boyfriend slowly turned to face him, a puzzled look on his face. Blaine wanted to say something, but he couldn't help but stare at the huge ass hickey he had left on Kurt's left side, much more prominent now that they were out of the shadows. He cursed himself for forgetting how easily Kurt's skin bruised, because he had not planned to give him _that._

Kurt clapped his hand over the spot Blaine was staring at and blushed furiously, but Blaine only had eyes for Finn. The giant didn't look disgusted, more shocked and impressed?

"I'll go and get a scarf," Kurt sighed, leaving him and Finn alone.

"You don't do it with me in the room, right? It's not a gay thing, I swear – I just don't want to overhear you doing it," Finn mumbled as soon as Kurt had entered the cabin, his eyes on the floor.

Blaine felt his cheeks flush as well. "We are not doing it, so you don't have to worry," he hissed, hoping they wouldn't be overheard. Finn furrowed his brows. "Really? But you've been dating forever."

Blaine shook his head. Sometimes he forgot that Finn and most of the other jocks he wasn't friends with assumed he and Kurt had been an item much longer than they actually were. Unsurprisingly, Finn looked surprised when he explained they had only been together five months and were in no rush to 'do it'. Well, Kurt wasn't, but that was none of Finn's business.

"Wow, and I thought gay dudes did it like all the time. I mean, I would if I were into dudes. No pregnancy scares and the other person is always up for it too. And you wouldn't have to deal with girls constantly saying no and not even letting you touch their boobs over the clothes."

Blaine couldn't do anything but stare at Finn as the teenager rambled on. Was that really what Finn thought? No wonder his relationships never lasted long. Maybe he should ask his dad to give Finn a talk as well.

"What are you talking about?" Kurt asked when he came back outside, a light summer scarf wrapped around his neck. "Soccer," Blaine replied, his eyes fixed on Finn, because he didn't want Finn to repeat his beliefs in front of Kurt. The last thing he needed, was Kurt being put under pressure from someone not even part of the relationship.

Taking Kurt's hand into his own, they trailed after Finn as he led them down the path to one of the more popular beaches, wondering what the world had come to if Finn Hudson of all people thought he wasn't having enough sex with his boyfriend.

Kurt

Kurt's heart was pounding as he stood on the water's edge, watching his boyfriend dive under, his gorgeous body disappearing underneath the water. He tried to remember every compliment Blaine had ever given him, the way he had reacted when Kurt had only worn a tank top in California. Blaine found him attractive and had promised that wouldn't change for anything.

Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and slowly lifted his shirt over his head. Blaine's back was turned and Kurt hurried into the cool water and swam over to him, trying to ignore how naked and exposed he felt.

To his relief, Blaine didn't comment – didn't ask why or why now – just swam further out with Kurt slowly following behind him. They stayed in the water until Kurt was shivering from the cold and when Blaine asked if he wanted to go first, one look at Blaine told him that Blaine needed to get out of the water ASAP as well. He ignored his nerves, the voices in his head reminding him that he would put himself on display for Blaine, that he wasn't good enough for Blaine, and stalked back to their blanket, Blaine trailing after him.

The next minutes passed in a blur, and even later on, he still had no idea what had gotten into him. One moment he and Blaine were listening to music on Blaine's iPod and the next he was pressing his boyfriend into the blanket, stones probably digging into his skin through the blanket uncomfortably, after said boyfriend had massaged sunscreen into his back.

And it didn't make his skin crawl, made him tingle all over instead – to feel Blaine's skin on his own. He couldn't resist pressing closer, reveling in the slide of skin against skin as Blaine moved to kiss down his neck, down his jaw until he hit his collarbone. And Kurt just let him, not thinking about the bad stuff for once – letting go – freeing himself. It was his raised middle finger to everyone who had ever told him that wanting _this_ was wrong, that no one would ever love him, that he was a waste of space. It was his 'go fuck yourselves' to all those who had tried to bring him down.

In that moment, he felt invincible, he wasn't that scared little boy anymore, done with being a victim, ready to be a survivor. He surrendered to his feelings and relaxed in Blaine's hold.

He had no idea how much time had passed when Finn called Blaine, but he knew that it was probably a good idea to go meet him, if he wanted to avoid doing something inappropriate for a public setting. He wasn't _there_ yet, but getting closer, less afraid now, more sure that Blaine would take care of him.

Later that night, after Carole had covered his neck with cover up so Burt wouldn't see his hickey, they all sat down together for dinner, outside on the front porch.

They weren't biologically related, but somehow it all felt like family – the kind that supported you and tried their best around you even if they disagreed with you. It was more than he ever thought he would have – but somehow the universe must have decided that Kurt Anderson deserved a break, deserved to be happy, deserved living not just surviving.

There was still his senior year to get through, but he was certain – with his new family by his side, he could handle everything thrown at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: Part two of the verse aka. the first part of the mini sequel aka the summer between junior and senior year


End file.
